End of the road for Nice in the 2014-2015 edition of the Coupe de France.
After the impressive victory against the LNA residents of Montpellier in the round of 16, Toulouse (4th in the LNA championship) proved to be a structured and powerful team centered around the Italian setter Saitta and the experienced Ratke and Zagonel, despite a fine performance from Mladen Kasic’s players, and ultimately superior to the locals.
After two uneventful sets (25-20 and 25-14), the team from Toulouse lost steam, allowing the Nice team to get back into the match thanks to the excellent performances of Ritic and especially the young Falafala, who showed that he could be relied upon.
The third set went to the locals with an indisputable scoring timeline: 10-5, then 20-13, and finally, 25-19.
With the team from Nice confident, the fourth set was played point by point: 24-22 for the team of captain Mitrovic (absent due to injury) and, finally, a strong comeback from Toulouse who finished with a sprint: 26-24 thanks to two highly contested refereeing decisions from the players and the audience.
“I hate losing when the result is thrown away; we could have easily reached the tie-break,” commented Mladen Kasic after the match.
Out of the Coupe de France, Nice will return to the championship and their home court this weekend, facing the team from Orange in Vaucluse.
