Handball: OGC Nice ends its losing streak by beating Paris 92

Having suffered five consecutive defeats across all competitions, the OGC Nice Handball players have finally held their heads up high. Wednesday evening at Charles-Ehrmann, they beat Paris 92 (28-26) at the end of a tight match from start to finish and led by their mainstays Marine Dupuis, Ehsan Abdelmalek and her goalkeeper Cécilia Errin.

OGC Nice Handball has finally found reasons to smile. After five consecutive defeats across all competitions, Sébastien Mizoule’s players returned to winning ways Wednesday evening at Charles-Ehrmann by defeating Paris 92 (28-26), a direct competitor in the fight to avoid relegation.

A relief for the Nice players, who were coming off a heavy defeat to Toulon (34-26) and had not won in the league since August 29. This victory allows them to leave last place and climb to 10th place, tied on points with their opponent of the evening (13 points).

OGC Nice held firm in the money-time

The match got off to a start under the impetus of Marine Dupuis. The Nice right back scored four of her team’s first five goals and allowed the Eagles to take control from the 8th minute, 6-4. But Paris 92, led by Julilove Andon and Rikke Hoffbeck Petersen, quickly came back into the game before taking the lead for the first time at the 17th minute: 9-8.

In a very balanced first half, Nice could count on Marie Fall, who scored two important goals to put her team back on track. At the 26th minute, the match took a turn with the red card handed to Maëlys Kouaya after a foul on Wendy Semedo Monteiro. Captain Marine Dupuis converted the penalty resulting from this action, but the Parisian players continued to respond. At the end of a hard-fought first period, the two teams separated with a tied score of 14-14.

The return from the dressing room favored the Nice players. After a balanced start to the second half, a penalty saved by Cecilia Errin, rightfully named player of the match with nearly 15 saves including one against Léa Ballureau that gave an extra boost to her teammates. Marine Dupuis, Isabela Da Cruz and then Ehsan Abdelmalek allowed Nice to build a lead of up to four goals (22-18, 41st), the biggest advantage of the match.

But Paris 92 did not give up. Thanks in particular to Andon, the Île-de-France team scored 6 goals in a row to come level ten minutes from the end (24-24, 50th). It was then that the Nice players showed character. Hanna Ahlen (three goals) gave her team back the advantage before scoring a second decisive goal a few minutes later. Above all, the Nice defense silenced the Paris attack, which failed to score for more than eight minutes between the 50th and 58th minute.

OGC Nice pulls away at the end of the match

Assisted by Abdelmalek, Emma Rouly made it 27-24 with three minutes left to play. Despite a final Paris reaction, Ehsan Abdelmalek (four goals) definitively sealed the Nice victory on penalty after a foul by Marija Jankulovska, who was sent off on the play. Nahia Malharin’s final goal at the buzzer only reduced the margin.

Marine Dupuis finished as OGC Nice’s top scorer with eight goals from ten attempts, including four converted penalties. Marie Fall added five goals, while Ehsan Abdelmalek once again had a significant impact on the game with four goals and seven assists. In goal, Cecilia Errin also played a major role with 13 saves, including two penalties stopped.

On the Paris side, Julilove Andon long kept her team in the match with ten goals, while Jannela Blonbou added five. However, this was not enough against a Nice team that was more efficient in key moments, with 28 goals scored from 47 shots compared to 26 from 45 for the Paris players.

OGC Nice Handball will not have time to savor this precious victory for long. The Eagles will now welcome Chambray, one of the in-form teams in the championship, on Wednesday, November 18 at 8 p.m.