The inhabitants of Montpellier and Nîmes discussed the victory of the former over the latter (25-23), on Sunday, October 15th during the sixth round of Starligue.
Montpellier Handball
Valentin Porte, capitaine du MHB : « C’est un peu les montagnes russes niveau émotion entre le bon début de match, douze minutes sans marquer, Nîmes qui remonte et passe devant, on perd Ahmed… Je suis partagé entre la joie de gagner ce match mal engagé et la tristesse pour Ahmed. Je ne vais pas trop faire la fête ce soir. »
Karl Konan, a defender for MHB, stated, « We were expecting a physical battle for sixty minutes, we knew the match wouldn’t be decided in just one half. Usam was also the league leader. But everyone on our team rose to the occasion. It takes seven players to defend. »
« I am very pleased to have won this match because it was a complicated match for many reasons, with a high intensity and where every ball was costly. I want to pay tribute to the Nîmes team who fought fiercely for 60 minutes. I saw a real physical opposition in front of us and it was a challenge that we were able to overcome. »
« We started this derby very well, but I am angry because we had a disastrous rotation, which was our strong point at the moment. And when I say disastrous, I am still far from the truth. We played completely backwards, especially the backline, and it destabilized us because Nîmes got back into the game at halftime. It took us a few minutes to regain our composure, and then we found a level of offensive and defensive play that was coherent. »
« We went there with courage and the big strong point is that we are in great shape athletically by playing every three days. It was a very complicated match but I am satisfied to have won, with the players’ commitment. However, I am disappointed with our rotation which almost cost us the match. We will need to have a discussion about this because we need 16 operational players, not just 9 or 10. That is the major downside of this match, along with Ahmed’s injury. »
Usam Nîmes
Julien Rebichon, captain of Usam: « It’s frustrating because we gave everything in this match… What do you want to say to the guys? We were in good physical shape, we had a strong start to the second half… Then, we hit the post with a ball and they scored a goal, there was a quick engagement that we shouldn’t have played… It’s all about the details! And it means that we still need to step up our game. »
Alexandre Demaille, goalkeeper of Usam: « We played a great game, which was decided by small details. Perhaps a few goalkeeper saves… We put our heart, commitment, and solidarity into it, and we can be proud. We managed to bring intensity in defense, which allowed us to take the lead. Towards the end, we had less success. But we are at the same level. »
Yann Balmossière, coach of Usam: « The game shifted a little before the end, it was decided on details, as usual in close matches. We couldn’t offer different things in attack because we struggled against the defense. I am very pleased with the commitment of my players, but details don’t forgive. »
« I cannot reword »
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