The penultimate day of National 1 was full of lessons for Cavigal Nice handball. Against the bottom team of the championship, the team from Nice did their job to return to the podium of the championship.
It was the last chance match. If the team from Nice wanted to secure a spot on the podium, they absolutely had to break out of this negative spiral. With four matches without a victory, it was essential to get back on track for the last home match of the season. Especially since Cavigal was up against Pau Nousty, already destined to finish last in this group 4 of National 1. A team that has only won twice this year.
Yet the start of the match was overall close. Nice led the way, notably thanks to a strong start from their captain Alexis Bon. He scored eight times during the match. Also noteworthy was the good performance from Lucas Luiset with five goals.
Maxime Aicardi and Eden Speno turn the match around
But this match was also a goalkeeper’s duel. Maxime Aicardi started well with seven saves in the first half. On the other side, the Pau goalkeeper was not left out as he made no fewer than 15 saves throughout the match. The visitors’ goalkeeper was able to effectively block the offensives of Kristian Vassilev and Romain Boveron, both with just over 50% shooting success. Florian Graglia also struggled against this goalkeeper with only one goal from four shots in the match. No matter, as this did not prevent Cavigal from leading at halftime (16-13).
While Nice’s attackers did not have a field day, Cavigal’s second goalkeeper also performed wonders. Eden Speno, who came in to replace Maxime Aicardi in the goal, also delivered a strong performance with no fewer than nine saves in the second half. Enough to thwart the best shooters of Pau. Thanks to their goalkeeper, Cavigal pulled ahead early in the second half and had as much as an eight-goal lead.
In the end, Cavigal won (31-29) and overtook Pau Billère and Aix-en-Provence, both defeated this weekend. There is only one match left to be played in three weeks to conclude this regular season of National 1. Cavigal will travel to Ajaccio.
