The French Championship resumes this Wednesday after a two-month break. OGC Nice Handball will travel to Metz, currently in second place and the reigning champion. Having been defeated by Fleury in the Coupe de France on Sunday, the Nice team will need to elevate their level of play to challenge the formidable Metz team.
“Top 6 Objective” repeats Sébastien Gardillou, coach of OGC Nice Handball. At the halfway point, qualification for the playoffs is still possible. To achieve this, they will need to be unbeatable at home and pull off surprises away. Indeed, a leading trio is emerging (Fleury Loiret, Metz, and Issy Paris), Nimes and Toulon are surprising, but behind them, five clubs are neck and neck to clinch the sixth and final ticket.
Before the break, in mid-November, due to the European Championship, Nice secured an important win in Dijon (26-19). But this Sunday in the Coupe de France, the team struggled to get back on track. Not helped by the draw, which meant a trip to Fleury, the leader of the Women’s League, the Nice team fell 27-20 after trailing throughout the match. A decision by the coach left OGC Nice Handball without their key players: Alexandra Lacrabère, Elisabet Chavez, and Samira Rocha. The main squad should be fully present for the trip to Metz.
“Against Fleury, we had some good phases of play but lacked aggressiveness. We need to correct this quickly and be much more aggressive if we hope for a positive result in Metz this Wednesday,” expressed Cléopâtre Darleux, Nice goalkeeper, on her Facebook page.
Nice is currently second to last in the Women’s League, 9th place but with one less match. In the first leg, the Azureans were defeated 27-24 after having performed well against a team accustomed to European competitions.
“We’re getting into the thick of things with all big opponents. We managed, in the first leg, to hold Fleury and Metz but without picking up any points, it’s not enough. It’s up to us to scrape some points there. If we pick up points, the momentum will be good,” admits Sébastien Gardillou.
On their part, the Lorraines have started moderately in this year 2015 with a draw at Toulon-St-Cyr (26-26) and a qualification at Besançon (Division 2) with a score of 34-23. With a large squad, including 6 French internationals, Metz is “only” second in a Women’s League dominated by Fleury-Loiret. Less than three weeks before the start of the 2nd round of the Champions League, the Messines want to prepare against a Nice team that, given its squad, is worth much more than its current ninth place.
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