OGC Nice handball: big frustration for the Eagles beaten at the buzzer by Strasbourg

In a complicated start to the season, OGC Nice Handball wanted to bounce back against Strasbourg during the 4^th day of Ligue Butagaz Energie. After a crazy scenario, the Nice players lost by one goal (29–28) and will regret some inaccuracies.

The Eagles absolutely had to recover this Wednesday on the field of Strasbourg Achenheim Truchtersheim for the fourth day of Ligue Butagaz Energie. After two consecutive defeats, including a stinging one last week against Metz (41–19), the Côte d’Azur players were in 8^th place in the standings, far behind their opponent of the day, 4^th.

Guilty of numerous inaccuracies in the offensive sector, the players of Sébastien Mizoule were among the worst attacks after three days (10^th out of 12, N.D.L.R.). Often overwhelmed at the start of matches, the Eagles developed the bad habit of chasing the score, a flaw that costs them dearly at the start of the season.

In the last four meetings between the two teams, the results have always been very close. Two victories for Nice, a draw, and a victory for Strasbourg, this match had all the ingredients to be undecided.

Slight advantage for Strasbourg in the first half

From the first minutes of the match, the two teams traded blows. Slightly ahead after 5 minutes of play (2 – 4), the Nice players then hit the opposing posts several times and faced a well-organized defense.

On both sides, the goalkeepers delivered a first half of very high level, maintaining the gap between the two teams at only a few goals difference each time.

The back-and-forth between the two teams turned in favor of the locals just before halftime. More accurate in the last ten minutes, they widened the gap slightly, to return to the locker room with a +2 advantage 16-14.

On the Nice side, it was the experienced Ehsan Abdelmalek who stood out, with several key passes and three goals scored.

A match tense until the end

Unfortunately, the trend seen at the end of the first half continued when the teams returned from the locker room. More clinical in their attacks, thanks in particular to their wingers, Strasbourg’s Piraths only increased their lead. 10 minutes from the end of this match, the Strasbourg players had a four-goal lead 27–23.

More dangerous at the end of the game, the Côte d’Azur players seemed able to catch up, but they made some unforgivable restart errors at this level, driving Sébastien Mizoule completely mad on his bench.

Yet, thanks to an extraordinary Cécilia Errin, unbeatable on 7-meter throws (three saves, 100%), the Nice players came back level three minutes from the end 27–27.

It was finally the post, not kind to the Eagles in this match, that deprived the visitors of a hard-fought draw in the final seconds. Final score (29–28) for Strasbourg. This defeat is painful for the Côte d’Azur players who suffer a third consecutive defeat and slide to 10^th position in Ligue Butagaz Energie.

Next appointment in two and a half weeks, on the European stage against Larvik. With only one victory in four matches, the break should allow the Eagles to regroup after a disappointing start to the season.