The eight round of the French League brought two big derbies. Two teams that were unbeaten before this round, Noisy-le-Sec and Marseille faced off in Paris. Marseille celebrated a 16:11 win and extended its winning streak to nine wins in as many games.
Titleholder Strasbourg hosted Pays d’Aix. The visiting team took points in this derby, too. Pays d’Aix beat Strasbourg 12:8.
2020/21 French League, Day 8
Noisy-le-Sec – Marseille 11:16 (1:3, 2:6, 5:4, 3:3)
Noisy-le-Sec: Caumette 2, Bjorch 2, Petkovic 2, Peisson 1, Rasovic 1, Krapic 1, Gurein 1, Do Carmo 1.
Marseille: Cuckovic 3, Kovacevic 3, Vukicevic 3, Spaic 2, Crousillat 2, Prlainovic 1, Djurdjic 1, Marion-Vernoux 1.
Strasbourg – Pays d’Aix 8:12 (1:1, 2:3, 3:4, 2:4)
Strasbourg: Markovic 3, Denux 2, Buha 1, Cesca 1, Misic 1.
Pays d’Aix: Monneret 5, Gluhaic 3, Gagulic 2, Khasz 1, Veron 1,
Nice – Tourcoing 8:10 (1:2, 1:4, 3:0, 3:4)
Nice: Butic 3, Colak 2, Bachelier 1, De Nardi 1, Gardikas 1.
Tourcoing: Krisman 3, Randjic 3, Banicevic 1, Kujacic 1, Grgurevic 1, Rocchietta 1.
Montpellier – Reims 13:8 (2:1, 2:3, 4:3, 5:1)
Montpellier: Ivankovic 5, Kalinic 5, D. Zivkovic 2, Vasseur 1.
Reims:Pesteric 2, Calic 2, Vix 2, Kovacic 1, Krivokapic 1.
Douai – Sete 15:10 (1:3, 5:0, 5:4, 4:3)
Douai: Bouet 6, Balaz 3, Michel 1, Vitrant 1, Vandamme 1, Croquet 1, Begovic 1, Blanchard 1.
Sete: Mijuskovic 5, Kopeliadis 1, Lopinot 1, Furman 2, Chandieu 1.
Bordeaux bye
Played earlier this week (Day 6)
Noisy-le-Sec – Montpellier 13:10 (2:1, 4:2, 4:3, 3:4)
Noisy: Petkovic 4, Hansen 2, Peisson 2, Krapic 2, Caumette 1, Marzouki 1, Rasovic 1.
Montpellier: Ivankovic, D. Zivkovic 3, Kalinic 1, I. Zivkovic 1, Matei-Acosta 1, Spilliaert 1.
The derby against Marseille was the third match for Noisy-le-Sec within eight days. Last week, the Parisians beat Bordeaux 23:7 in the postponed match of Day 7. On Wednesday they defeated Montpellier 13:10 (Day 6). Marseille didn’t let Noisy continue the successful row. Marseille dominated the first half. The visitors were almost flawless in the first 16 minutes, especially in the second quarter. Their defense worked perfectly, they didn’t make a lot of mistakes in attack. The first quarter was quite balanced. Marseille’s Igor Kovacevic scored an opener in the second minute, but after that, there were no goals for a while. Ante Vukicevic doubled the visitors’ advantage a minute before the first break. Noisy finally got on the scoreboard 35 seconds later (Caumette for 1:2), but in the next possession, Roman Marion-Vernoux gave Marseille a new 2-goal lead (3:1).
Marseille broke Noisy in the second quarter and led 9:3 at halftime. In the first possession in the third quarter, Ante Vukicevic scored his third goal and stretched the margin to seven (10:3). Noisy didn’t surrender and made an effort to come back. Step-by-step, the Parisians reduced the gap to three in the middle of the final period (10:13). Still, Marseille responded with two quick goals for 15:10 and avoided a thrilling finish.
The best scorers of the winning team were Igor Kovacevic, Ante Vukicevic and Vladan Spain (3 goals each). Andrija Prlainovic, who missed the previous five games, returned to the team of Marseille with one goal.
Despite the defeat, Noisy remains in second place, with seven wins, one draw, and one defeat.
The second big match of the day, Strasbourg – Pays d’Aix, offered more excitement. Pays d’Aix was ahead for most of the time, but, the distance between the teams was never larger than a goal in the first half. Pays d’Aix entered the third period with a 4:3 advantage.
In the 22nd minute, Strasbourg equalized (6:6) for the last time After that, Pays d’Aix produced a 3:0 series that proved crucial for their win. Just 77 seconds before the end of the third period break, Pays d’Aix built a 2-goal lead for the first time (8:6). Sebastien Monneret, the man of the match (scored five goals) found the net for the fourth time to give Aix a 9:6 lead in the 27th minute. Montpellier wasn’t able to come back. Pays d’Aix recorded a 12:8 victory to climb into fourth place of the table, behind Marseille, Noisy, and Strasbourg. Each of these three teams played nine matches. Pays d’Aix water polo players have seven games behind them.
Tourcoing defeated Nice 10:8. Tourcoing, the visiting team in this game, built a 6:2 lead by halftime, but Nice started climbing back after the middle break. The hosts cut the deficit to one in the final quarter (7:8 and 8:9), but 11 seconds from the end Tourcoing’s Goran Grgurevic found the net for 10:8 and decided everything.
An encounter between Montpellier and Reims was an even contest until the middle of the third period (6:6). But, Montpellier, led by Uros Kalinic and Marko Ivanovic (5 goals each), took control and recorded a 13:8 win.
1 Marseille 9 – 27
2 Noisy-le-Sec 9 – 22
3 Strasbourg 9 – 18
4 Pays d’Aix 7 – 13
5 Montpellier 7 – 12
6 Douai 7 – 11
7 Tourcoing 7 – 10
8 Reims 8 – 6
9 Sete 7 – 3
10 Nice 7 – 1
11 Bordeaux 7 – 0
