There were no surprising results on Day 1 of the French Men’s Cup that started today in Aix-En-Provence with the quarterfinal matches.
Marseille, Noisy-le-Sec, Strasbourg, and Tourcoing advanced to the semifinals of the French Cup, named after Pierre Garsau, a French Olympian who died at the age of 35 in 1997.
There was no draw for the quarterfinals. The teams were paired according to the standings at the half of the French League (after nine rounds). The leader, Marseille, played against 8th-placed Reims. Noisy-le-Sec (2nd place) and Montpellier (7th place) played in the second match. Strasbourg (3rd) met host Pays d’Aix (6th). In the last match, fourth-placed Tourcoing met Sete (5th place).
On Friday, Noisy will play against Strasbourg in the first semifinal match. Marseille will try to secure a spot in the final in a game against Tourcoing.
The final and the bronze medal match of the national Cup for ladies will take place after the men’s semis.
2022/23 French Men’s Cup, “Trophy Pierre Garsau”, Quarterfinals
Marseille – Reims 14:5 (6:2, 2:1, 4:1, 2:1)
Strasbourg – Pays d’Aix 15:8 (4:2, 4:2, 4:3, 3:1)
Noisy-le-Sec – Montpellier 19:10 (3:4, 6:2, 5:2, 5:2)
Noisy-le-Sec (Cercle 93): Gogov 3, Saudadier 2, Do Carmo 2, Bowen 2, Caumette 2, Guerin 2, Dino 1, Bjorch 1, Petkovic 1, Krapic 1, Ait Dahmane 1, Nardon 1.
Montpellier: Dory 3, Piot 2, Ivankovic 2, Spilliaert 2, Vasseur 1.
Tourcoing – Sete 19:12
Marseille, the winner of the 2022 French Cup, which was held in Abbeville, had the easiest task in the quarterfinals. The Champions League club beat Reims by nine goals (14:5).
Remi Saudadier (Noisy) Photo by Photo: WP Inside / Philippe Fretault
Noisy-le-Sec needed some time to find its rhythm in the game against Montpellier, which had a 4:2 advantage in the first quarter. Still, the Parisians dominated the second quarter and entered the second half leading 9:6. Noisy broke the rival in the last three minutes of the third quarter, scoring three unanswered goals to jump from 11:8 to 14:8. Montpellier couldn’t come back. All field players of Noisy-le-Sec got on the scoresheet in a 19:10 victory. Drasko Gogov was the best scorer with three goals, and Farkas Dory netted three for Montpellier.
Strasbourg – Pays d’Aix Photo: by WP Inside/ Philippe Fretault
The home field didn’t help Pays d’Aix to beat Strasbourg. The opening several minutes set the tone of the match. Strasbourg earned a 3:0 lead quickly. Pays d’Aix cut the deficit to one goal twice (2:3 and 3:4). Still, Strasbourg rebuilt a 3-goal lead (6:3) and stretched the margin to four before the middle break (8:4). Strasbourg dictated the pace in the second half for a 15:8 victory.
Tourcoing – Sete Photo: by WP Inside/ Philippe Fretault
Sete caused a few surprises in the past months. One of these was a victory over Tourcoing in a “crazy match” of the 8th round of the French League. Sete recorded a 32:31 victory after an extremely long penalty shootout (the score in the regular time was 12:12). However, Sete wasn’t able to make another surprise today. Tourcoing controlled the match. Midway through the third quarter, the favorite built a 5-goal lead (11:6). At the end of the third period, Tourcoing led 12:8. In the final eight minutes, the favorite increased the margin to seven (19:12).
