For this third day of the LBE playoffs, OGC Nice Côte-d’Azur Handball, coached by Marjan Kolev, traveled to Chambray. The Nice team narrowly lost, 27-25, suffering their second defeat after the one conceded to Brest.
In the ongoing battle between the six teams vying for the three European spots, Nice returns from Touraine with a loss that could weigh heavily on the final standings.
The match was intensely contested from start to finish, and neither team managed to take more than a two-goal lead until the 26-23 score was achieved thanks to a penalty by Nina Brkjiacic, followed by the decisive 27-24 by Djénéba Touré, with less than two minutes remaining.
Nice led 3-5 at the start of the match but then handed control to Chambray, who managed a 3-0 run to move from 6-7 to 9-7 by the end of the first quarter-hour. There were few fast breaks on either side, so continuous close contact was necessary to match each other’s efforts.
Entering the field after eleven minutes of play (5-6), Andréa Novellan immediately made an impact against Chambertin and then Abdelmalek. Two immediate saves slowed down the Nice offensive momentum, which had scored six goals in ten minutes. This pause was beneficial for Chambray’s mindset and sowed doubt among their opponents. This was especially evident in the last quarter-hour when CTHB regained the lead from 21-21 to 23-21, thanks to three consecutive saves.
As Chambray raised their defensive level throughout the end of the match, Nice couldn’t recover their two-goal deficit.
A factor that ultimately played in Chambray’s favor was that Jérôme Delarue could rely on a broader roster than the one Marjan Kolev had.
