Marseille continued its winning streak in the French Championships. The reigning champion downed Strasbourg 11:5 in the derby of the 9th matchday.
But, there have been exciting encounters in France this week. Montpellier upset Noisy-le-Sec with a narrow 14:13 victory. Douai started very badly, but it beat Pays d’Aix 9:6. This outcome can also be considered a surprise.
2021/22 French League, Day 9
Marseille – Strasbourg 11:5 (3:1, 3:0, 2:2, 3:2)
Marseille: Cuckovic 3, Vernoux 2, Spaic 1, Prlainovic 1, Crousillat 1, Izdinsky 1, MArion-Vernoux 1, Bodegas 1.
Strasbourg: Cesca 1, Missy 1, Vix 1, Buden 1, Canovas 1.
Noisy-le-Sec – Montpellier 13:14 (3:6, 5:2,3:2, 2:4)
Noisy: Petkovic 4, Njorch 3, Do Carmo 3, Caumette 1, Marzouki 1, Guerin 1.
Montpellier: Ivankovic 5, Piot 4, Delas 2, Kalinic 1, D.Zivkovic 1, I. Zivkovic 1.
Douai – Pays d’Aix 9:6 (0:2, 5:0, 2:1, 2:3)
Douai: Vandamme 2, Gorria 2, Croquet 1. Begovic 1, Michel 1, Vitrant 1, Degaille 1.
Pays d’Aix: Grgurevic 2, Dino 2, Monneret 1, Giga 1.
Nice – Sete 7:8 (2:2, 3:2, 0:1, 2:3)
Nice: Stevenson 3, Butic 2, Martin 2.
Sete: Furman 4, Jovanovic 1, Keuning 1, Lopinot 1, Chandieu 1.
Reims – Tourcoing 9:13 (4:5, 0:3, 3:4, 2:1)
Reims: Pesteric 6, Culina 2, Jakhaia 1.
Tourcoing: Randjic 3, Krisman 2, Avena 2, Canonne 2, Kujacic 2, Vincourt 1, Cathudal 1.
Marseille killed all suspense in the derby game quickly and proved that it was in excellent shape. The title-holder gained a 3:0 lead before Strasbourg scored its first goal, which happened in the 6th minute. But, Strasbourg’s next goal came in the 21st minute. In the meantime, Marseille netted four and built a 7:1 advantage (18th minute). It was clear that the hosts would continue their winning streak. Defender Uros Cuckovic was the best scorer (3 goals) in Marseille’s final rehearsal before a new test in the Champions League against Spandau next week.
Montpellier earned a valuable win over Noisy-le-Sec. Both teams had ups and downs. Montpellier had a 6:3 lead after the first quarter, but Noisy was a better rival in the middle two quarters and entered the final period with an 11:10 advantage. However, Montpellier dictated the pace in the final quarter. The visitors opened the fourth period with two goals and turned around a 10:11 deficit to a 12:11 lead. After that, Noisy equalized twice (12:12, 13:13). Still, Montpellier took all three points, as Logan Piot found the net from seven meters and the visiting with 01:17 minutes to go. The Parisians didn’t equalize anymore. Mario Ivankovic was the best scorer . He found the net five times. Piot added four, etc. Antonio Petkovic scored four for Noisy.
After three straight wins, Pays d’Aix suffered the first loss and dropped to 5th place. Aix played against Douai. Pays d’Aix started well and earned an opening 2:0 lead. But, after the first break, Douai’s defense, commanded by goalkeeper Lukas Kozmer (13 saves in the match), was superb, as well as the attack was. Douai produced a 5:0 series in the second quarter and had a 5:2 advantage at halftime. The hosts entered the final quarter with a 7:3 advantage. In the fourth quarter, Pays d’Aix tried to come back but with no success.
Reims couldn’t surprise Tourcoing. After a quite balanced first quarter, Tourcoing dominated in the second period. Early in the second half, Tourcoing stretched the margin to five (10:5) and controlled the game.
Sete defeated Nice in an encounter between the teams that are bottom of the table. The game was a close contest. Before the fourth period, the score was 5:5. Sete earned a slim lead twice in the middle of the final quarter (6:5, 7:6), but the hosts equalized on both occasions. Still, the hosts had no answer after Furman scored his 4th goal for 8:7 with 02:10 left on the clock.
First three games of the 8th round
Pays d’Aix – Reims 19:12 (5:2, 3:1, 4:2, 7:7)
Sete – Strasbourg 10:11 (4:4, 3:2, 2:3, 1:2)
Noisy-le-Sec – Nice 15:9 (5:3, 3:4, 4:1, 3:1)
1 Marseille 8 – 24
2 Strasbourg 9 – 19
3 Noisy-le-Sec 8 – 18
4 Tourcoing 8 – 15
5 Pays d’Aix 9 – 12
6 Montpellier 8 – 12
7 Douai 9 – 9
8 Reims 9 – 7
9 Sete 9 – 6
10 Nice 9 – 6
