For this 9th day of Proligue, Cavigal hosted Angers, second to last in the standings. The bottom team in the championship, Nice played their most accomplished match of the season against an inconsistent Angers team to win 31 to 25.
The start of the match was very tense with rough defenses on both sides. After a two-minute penalty, Angers managed to maintain parity. Their goalkeeper even saved a shot from right-winger Rooba with a firm hand. Then repeated his gesture on the opposite winger. After the first 10 minutes of play, Nice was trailing 3 to 4. They equalized with an interception followed by a counterattack from the tireless Jeremi Pirani. The face-off was very tense between two clubs fighting to escape the danger zone. A quarter-hour into the game, tempers flared between the Azurean captain Boada and Angers’ number 13. Both received a yellow card as a warning.
The reds and blacks regained the lead five minutes later with a breakthrough from right-back Alexis Bon, who delivered an unstoppable shot to the far top corner (10-9). A few actions later, a reverse spin shot without momentum from Pirani on the wing provided a two-goal lead and forced the Angers coach to call a timeout. The spectacular moves kept coming from the unstoppable Nice players. A spin shot from Gaillard followed by a reverse spin shot from Lopez. Cavi’ stifled Angers and took a five-point lead. Angers seemed without solutions, taking shots without momentum or shooting off-target.
Antonio Asier’s men entered the locker room smiling. It was the most accomplished first half since the start of the season. Only three minutes after the start of the second half, Nice had to play with four players due to two consecutive penalties for defensive fouls and a simulation judged harshly. However, the reds and blacks fought with pride to maintain a slight lead (18-16).
Struggling since his arrival in Nice, Gretar Gudjonnson breathed new life into his teammates. The goalkeeper made a magnificent save with great flexibility. A wide stretch followed by a left-hand flick deflected the ball. Fifteen minutes before the final whistle, the two teams were tied (20-20). But once again, Gretar stopped a shot with the tip of his foot. He ended the match with 13 saves and a 36% success rate. His exploits provided perfectly exploited counterattacks with a critical numerical advantage. The score was 25 to 21 at the 50th minute. Angers did not give up and came back within two lengths only to finally falter in attack during the crunch time due to a precision Azurean defense that left no space for their evening opponent. The wingers capitalized the most on counters.
With this wide victory (31-25), Cavigal temporarily climbs to 10th place in Proligue, a leap of four spots in the standings.
