Up against Mรฉrignac this evening, the women from Nice managed to turn the tide at the end of the match to win with just two seconds remaining. This nail-biting victory allows the Aiglonnes to stay in the Top 4 of the Ligue Butagaz Energie.
There are nights like this when the stars align. Facing Mรฉrignac, the second-to-last team in the Ligue Butagaz Energie, everything suggested that the women from Nice had the ability to secure a clear victory. But in sports, things don’t always go as planned. Here’s the proof.
While the women from Nice opened the scoring thanks to Marie-Hรฉlรจne Sajka, they ended up chasing the game throughout the match. It was due to a good start from the Borg sisters, Lylou and Enola. Well assisted by their captain Lรฉa Lignieres (6 goals), the women from Mรฉrignac took a six-goal lead. Against the local defensive block, the Nice team struggled and went into the halftime break trailing by three points (17-14).
Only Marie-Hรฉlรจne Sajka managed to stand out. The top scorer got into action right from the start of the second half. She was the only player able to score for OGC Nice handball in the first fifteen minutes of the second half. With 11 goals to her name tonight, her teammates owe her a great deal. Especially since she allowed them to keep the deficit to five goals. At this point, it seemed difficult to come back. But spurred by their star scorer of the evening, the women from Nice reawakened. Marija Colic stood out by making two decisive saves followed by a goal. Nice almost miraculously got back into the game.
It was then that Raissa Dapina allowed the Aiglonnes to close the gap to just two goals. The impossible seemed achievable, fortune changed sides, and the Azurean attackers found their way to the net again. With five minutes remaining, Louna Benezeth equalized. With just one goal out of five attempts, the pivot player from the Maralpine team embodied the visitors’ comeback by scoring three goals, including the last one with two seconds left in the match!ย
Nice clinched the win at the death (33-34) and kept the pressure on the top three in the standings. The next match is next Sunday in Chambray (5th).
