For the 21st day of the Ligue Butagaz Energie, OGC Nice Handball faced the northern team of Saint-Amand. Their goal was to stick to the Top 4.
With six days left until the end of the Ligue Butagaz Energie, everything is still to play for regarding the European spots. OGC Nice is part of a small group of five teams still vying for Europe. Being fifth with tonight’s match against Saint-Amand, the team from Nice had to win at home against a team fighting for survival.
Marie-Hélène Sajka understood this well. As the club’s top scorer with 118 goals since the beginning of the season, she took charge right from the start of the match. With five goals scored in the first ten minutes, she helped her teammates take the lead. The Nice team even stretched the score thanks to the back Adriana Holejova. The Slovak player scored a hat-trick in just three short minutes, giving Sébastien Mizoule’s players a five-goal lead (12-7). This margin was quickly erased by the efforts of three visitors, Paola Cyrielle Ebanga Baboga, Donna Backer, and Maëlle Faynel. On their own, they revived the match just before halftime. Nice still managed to return to the locker room in the lead after a double from Dienaba Sy (17-16).
Adriana Holejova secures victory for OGC Nice Handball
The second half was very tense. Perhaps affected by the stakes, the Azuréennes found it difficult to make distinctions. The Saint-Amand collective responded well to the Nice opposition, leveling the score at 29-29 with less than five minutes left in the match. Adriana Holejova found the breakthrough and restored the lead for the Aiglonnes. She scored again with 20 seconds left while Saint-Amand was just one goal away from equalizing. The Nice team won in the end suspense (32-30) and reclaimed fourth place in the standings awaiting Dijon’s match tomorrow.
This European spot is therefore still under threat for now, but everything is possible with five days to go. Especially since on Sunday for the 22nd day, OGC Nice Handball will travel to… Dijon. With an extra day of rest, the Azuréennes will have time to properly prepare for this match, which is of particular significance in the pursuit of European qualification.
