OGC Nice Handball: beaten at Larvik, the Eaglets are eliminated from the European Cup

Immense frustration for the Eagles beaten (34-32) against Larvik in the EHF European League return match. After the narrow victory in the first leg by one goal, the Nice players lose 61-60 on aggregate, and may regret moments of confusion in Norway, particularly in the second half.

Not easy for OGC Nice handball to find positives in this start of the season. With only one victory for four defeats in the championship, Sébastien Mizoule’s players are in 10^th place in Ligue Butagaz, far from initial objectives.

In European competition, things are different, the Eagles played a complete match against Larvik in the first leg, with a victory at the buzzer (28-27) obtained thanks to their collective strength. This evening in Norway for the return match, they hoped to maintain this one-goal lead to escape these EHF European League preliminary rounds.

Quickly outpaced in their last match, Wednesday evening, against Dijon, the Nice players had failed to make up their deficit in the second half. Coach Sébastien Mizoule had taken the opportunity to rest his key players, ahead of this evening’s match: “it’s important to manage our squad since we’re competing on two fronts, that’s why players like Marine Dupuis or Eshan Abdelmalek had less playing time”, he had declared three days ago.

Slight deficit at half-time

Highly concentrated from the start, the Eagles first imposed their rhythm at the beginning of the match, managing quite easily to find good shooting positions. After a few minutes, they were up by two on the scoreboard (3-5).

Spearhead of the attack, captain Marine Dupuis was able to show all her technique with a few well-placed lobs over the Norwegian goalkeeper. Unfortunately, as against Dijon a few days earlier, the final minutes of the first half were more difficult.

More disorganized on attack, the lead of the Côte d’Azur team turned into a slight deficit. At half-time, they were down 13-10. Nothing catastrophic for the Eagles, but they had to quickly stop this negative spiral to avoid sinking in the second half.

Too many approximations in the second half

Unfortunately, the Maralps quickly showed their opponents that they had not returned from the dressing room ready. From the 30^th to the 40^th minute, they accumulated technical errors and poor shooting choices. Struggling to break through the Norwegian block, they often attempted 9-meter shots without success. With 25 minutes remaining they were down by six goals: 18-12.

Despite a show of pride and a comeback to within two goals 21-19, Sébastien Mizoule’s side suffered under Norwegian pressure at the end of the match. Just under ten minutes from the final whistle, they were down 31-24 and qualification hopes seemed to be slipping away.

Yet, thanks to five final minutes of madness, played with numerical superiority, the Eagles made an improbable comeback, but fell one goal short of overtime (34-32).

The frustration is immense. The matches follow one another and are similar. Once again, the Nice players did not seem weaker than their opponents, but small inconsistencies by period cost them qualification.

Now it’s back to the championship, Wednesday October 14, at 8 p.m., away against Plan-de-Cuques. The Nice players must imperatively win against the 8^th place team in Ligue Butagaz to escape the bottom of the table.