The games of the postponed 11th round have been played in France this weekend.
Four games were on the program, and each of the encounters was very exciting.
Noisy-le-Sec and Pays d’Aix shared the points in derby (13:13). Strasbourg defeated Nice 11:10 in a match with a few twists and turns and mathematically secured 2nd place.
2021/22 French League, Day 11
Noisy-le-Sec – Pays d’Aix 13:13 (3:5, 5:3, 3:3, 2:2)
Cercle 93 Noisy-le-Sec: Petkovic 4, Marzouki 4, Peisson 2, Caumette 1, Bjorch 1, Krapic 1.
Pays d’Aix: Khasz 4, Monneret 4, Dino 2, Pirat 1, Popadic 1.
Tourcoing – Douai 11:7 (3:1, 4:4, 1:2, 3:0)
Tourcoing: Rocchietta 4, Krisman 3, Randjic 2 , Avena 1, Kujacic 1.
FNC Douai: Lepoint 2, Balaz 2, Gorria 1, Michel 1, Vitrant 1.
Strasbourg – Nice 11:10 (4:5, 3:0, 1:5, 3:0)
Team Strasbourg: Babic 3, Misic 2, Valentino 1, Bachelier 1, Cesca 1, Missy 1, Buha 1, Canovas 1.
Olympic Nice: Stevenson 4, K.Butic 2, Cakic 2, Carpentras 1, D. Butic 1.
Sete – Reims 10:9 (2:0,4:3, 3:4, 1:2)
Sete Natation: Furman 4, Lopinot 3, Aquila 2, Chandieu 1.
Stade de Reims: Pesteric 4, Dubar 2, Blary 1, Jakhaia 1, Buden 1.
Marseille – Montpellier postponed
Rescheduled matches, played earlier this week
Round 13: Marseille – Pays d’Aix 16:9 (2:1, 5:3, 5:2, 4:3)
Round 16: Sete – Marseille 11:18 (3:4, 1.4, 5:7, 2:3)
Pays d’Aix opened the match against Noisy in an excellent way. Midway through the first period, the visitors jumped to 5:2 and had a 6:3 and 7:4 advantage in the second quarter. However, Noisy managed to climb back. In the 20th minute, Noisy took the lead for the first time (10:9) and doubled an advantage shortly after (11:9). But, Aix leveled at 11:11 before the last break. In the fourth quarter, Noisy went ahead twice (12:11 and 13:12). Still, the visitors earned a point after Edo Khasz converted a penalty for 13:13 with 38 seconds to go.
The match was a flood of goals, but only ten players got on the scoresheet. Petkovic and Marzouki netted four goals each for Noisy. Khasz and Monneret had the same output in the visiting team.
Strasbourg water polo players collected three points that secured themselves 2nd place in the regular season and a ticket for the semifinals of the playoffs. But, Strasbourg had to work hard to defeat Nice. Both teams had ups and downs in this game. At halftime, Strasbourg led 7:5. But, Nice showed something of its best in the third period, and turned around the 2-goal deficit to a 10:7 lead (22nd minute). Still, Strasbourg scored the last four goals in the match for an 11:10 victory.
Tourcoing needed a lot of time to break Douai. The visitors kept up with the favorite for three quarters, but they ran out of gas for the final eight minutes. Tourcoing recorded an 11:7 victory. Tourcoing is just one point behind 3rd-placed Noisy.
An encounter between Sete and Reims was exciting, too. Sete rushed to a 4:0 lead (12th minute), but Reims didn’t surrender. Reims fought hard until the end, reducing the gap to one (9:10) in the 31st minute. Still, Sete managed to keep a one-goal advantage and the points.
Earlier this week, Marseille recorded two convincing wins and continued its unbeaten run.
1.Marseille 15 – 45
2.Strasbourg 16 – 40
3.Noisy-le-Sec 16 – 29
4. Tourcoing 16 – 28
5.Pays d’Aix 16 – 23
6. Montpellier 15 – 23
7. Douai 16 – 18
8.Nice 16 – 10
9. Sete 16 – 9
10.Reims 16 – 7
