For this 20th day of Proligue, Cavigal Nice Handball traveled to Valence, 13th in the standings. It was a suspenseful match that ended in a narrow defeat for Asier Antonio’s men, 31-29.
Nice wanted to make up for their narrow home defeat to Cherbourg (31-32) last week. The objective was missed with this new setback against a Valence team that was solid in defense and quick in attack.
Nice in strength, Valence in speed
The match began evenly between Nice and Valence, with neither team able to pull ahead on the scoreboard (3-3; 6-6). Valence showcased a fast-paced game, with effective counter-attacks allowing them to gradually pull ahead (11-8; 14-10). Asier Antonio’s Nice team will certainly regret giving their opponents so much space.
Faced with Valence’s pace of play, Nice was overwhelmed, struggled to reposition themselves, and were increasingly left behind (15-11). Half-time was whistled with a score of 17-14 in favor of Valence. Nice can regret some missed opportunities but can rely on their offensive play based on powerful movement.
The Battle of the Goalkeepers
In this match, both teams faced a very solid defensive wall, exemplified by both goalkeepers, Arthur Adamik (Valence) and Gretar Gundjonnson (Nice), who made 13 and 15 saves respectively during the game. Adamik was imperial for his team in several duels, just like his Nice counterpart who stopped a deadly counter-attack in the first half.
The efforts of Jurgen Rooba (seven goals), Jérémi Pirani and Alexis Bon (five goals each) helped Cavigal keep up with Valence during the second half (20-16; 23-18). But as the minutes passed, Valence showed themselves to be ruthless (25-22). Just when it seemed the Valence team would win decisively, Nice narrowed the gap to a single point (26-25), but that was before a very in-form Grégory Quintallet, who scored nine goals in the match (28-26).
After a last attempt by Nice, Dylan Lopez scored a goal in the top corner, but it didn’t change the outcome of this intense match. Adamik made one final save to conclude the impressive performance by this Valence team, which remained solid until the last minute. The end of the match was whistled at 31-29 in favor of Valence, who continue their battle for survival.
Cavigal recorded their second consecutive defeat, their eighth of the season, and will need to bounce back against Sélestat (8:30 PM) on April 2nd, at the Pasteur hall.
