At home, the Eagles of Nice wanted to get back to winning ways against Briançon. However, things didn’t go as they had hoped.
Despite being dominant, the Eagles of Nice couldn’t find a way through Briançon’s defense. At least not enough to win. The home team started the match very strongly, completely suffocating their evening opponent. Nice pushed but lacked success in the final move. The visitors tried to hold on, but repelling the attacks from the Azureans became increasingly difficult. So, they relied on their goalkeeper, who made numerous saves. However, the Eagles lacked precision in the final move. Finally, illumination came in the dying seconds of the first period. Knoteck opened the scoring, and the locals led 1-0 at the end of the first break.
Returning from the locker room, the same dominance was expected as the visitors were overwhelmed. But the Red Devils came back with better intentions. They finally managed to get closer to the Nice goal. In just a few opportunities, they found the gap. In the 7th minute of the second period, Urban Sodja equalized as both teams had received a two-minute penalty. Nice committed multiple fouls and found themselves short-handed, and Briançon sensed they could take the lead. The visitors launched multiple offensives. After video review on an attack by the current last-place team, the goal was awarded. Quentin Berthon allowed the Red Devils to take the lead.
The Eagles had to do everything to reverse the trend in the final period, but they were immediately punished. After conceding another two-minute penalty, Jussi Nättinen broke away. After that, Briançon defended very well. Nice couldn’t find the weaknesses and sabotaged themselves. Dominant in the first act, the locals couldn’t widen the gap. On the other hand, the Red Devils were opportunistic and showed realism.
The Nice team lost 3-1 and will try to break this negative streak next week against Angers.
