For this semi-final of the French Cup, OGC Nice Handball Côte d’Azur traveled to Loire-Atlantique to challenge Nantes, a team also playing in the LBE playoffs. The match ended in a defeat for the Nice team, 33-26, and they will not play in a final this season.
Once again missed for the Gym, which wanted to erase its sad series of four consecutive defeats in the LBE playoffs. This time, it happened in the French Cup. The players of Marjan Kolev delivered a solid performance, especially in the first half, but it was not enough to believe in qualifying for a final.
Neck and Neck
Despite the opening goal from the Nantes team, the Gym showed resilience and responded through Barbara Moretto and Ehsan Abdelmalek. The score was tied for a considerable time (2-2; 6-6), although Nantes regained a slight lead before being caught by the visitors (6-7; 9-10; 11-11). Against a well-organized defense, the Azur players created some sparse opportunities through Djazz Chambertin, with some being converted by Marie Prouvensier.
There were many blocked shots in these first 30 minutes, where the Nice and Nantes teams were side by side. The halftime whistle blew with the score at 14-14 after a last-minute goal conceded by the Gym.
Adrianna Placzek, Gym’s Nemesis
If there was one player who stood out tonight, it was the Nantes goalkeeper, Adrianna Placzek. She made nine remarkable saves and double saves out of 29 shots. She caused a lot of trouble for the Gym’s attack, which saw its attempts thwarted.
In this second half, Nantes gradually started to pull away from its evening opponent on the scoreboard (18-16; 20-19; 24-21). The goals from Dyenaba Sylla (7 goals), Deborah Kpodar (5 goals), and Camille Ayglon-Saurina (5 goals) allowed their team to secure a five-point lead (27-23; 30-25).
Overwhelmed by the Nantes game and faced with the defensive wall of goalkeeper Placzek, the Aiglonnes, out of ideas, could not come back and ended up losing 33-26. Thus, the French Cup journey ends here in the semi-final for the OGC Nice players. While Nantes has just secured its ticket for the first final in its history, and while waiting for the result of the other semi-final between the two giants, Metz and Brest, Marjan Kolev’s Gym will have to recover quickly as it will face this same Nantes team at Charles Ehrmann for the 5th day of the LBE playoffs.
