Last weekend, the women from Nice saw their chance to advance to the semifinals of the playoffs slip away despite a victory against Metz. Tonight against Nantes, the resentment was still on everyone’s mind, and it was palpable.
The start of the match was promising, with a score of 1-4 for Sébastien Gardillou’s team after 2 minutes of play, then 3-6 at 7 minutes. But the advantage was short-lived. The Nantes team mounted an offense and caught up while Alvarez Lafuente protected her goal and stalled Nice’s attack until the end of the first half (14-18).
The second half left little room for hope, and OGC Nice struggled to keep up with the score. Hopes were pinned on Knustdottir, who scored half of the team’s goals in the first half (7/14), but OGC Nice was clearly not at their best. The usual scorers didn’t shine, and Cléopâtre Darleux, who had almost a 50% save rate against Metz, had trouble in the first part of the match (4/22) and was replaced by her teammate Falcon.
In contrast, the Nantes team presented a solid game, with diverse scorers (Prudhomme 6, Aoustin 6, Stoiljkovic 6, Nze-Minko 8), and their goalkeeper stole the show with a 42% save rate.
Against this Nantes whirlwind, the Nice players were defeated 22-30 and moved further away from 5th place and the European Cup.
The next match is scheduled for Saturday, May 23, at 8:30 PM in Saint Herblain for the return leg.
Christelle Del Peschio
