The 121st edition of the Water polo Championship of France was opened by three matches of the first round. Ten teams are competing in the league, which has a long tradition (the first League was held in 1897).
On Day 1, Marseille, the LEN Euro Cup winner, had an easy task against Sete Natation. Montpellier beat Douai 12:9, while Noisy-le-Sec collected all three points after a thrilling battle against Tourcoing.
French League, Day 1
EN Tourcoing – CN Noisy-le-Sec 12:13 (1:3, 2:3, 6:3, 3:4)
Tourcoing : Grgurevic 4, Kujacic 3, Nispeling 2, Crosetti 1, Randjic 1, Koopman 1.
Noisy : Petkovic 9, Sterling 1, Kolaric 1, Blary 1, Pesteric 1.
CN Marseille – Sete Natation 16:6 (3:1,6:3, 3:1, 4:1)
Marseille : Camarasa 4, Vukicevic 3, Olivon 2, Blary 2, Vernoux 2, Djurdjic 1, Marion-Vernoux 1, Izdinsky 1.
Sete : Rustamov 3, Alfonso Pozo 2, Sauton 1.
FNC Douai – Montpellier WP 9: 12 (4:2, 1:2, 3:2, 1:6)
Douai : Muller 3, Vitrant 2, Bouet 1, Spooner 1, Canonne 1, Rocchietta 1.
Montpellier : D. Zivkovic 4 Mustur 3, Piot 2, Delas 2, , I. Zivkovic 1.
Reims – Pays d’Aix on 28 September
Strasbourg – Nice on 28 September
After a successful start in the LEN Euro Cup, Noisy-le-Sec opened the domestic season with a narrow win. Noisy, which has qualified for the LEN Euro Cup Round 2, visited Tourcoing. Home team EN Tourcoing had a 2-goal lead in the middle of the last quarter. Noisy-le-Sec firstly equalised (12:12) and just a minute from the end, scored the goal for a 13:12 win. The hero of the match was Antonio Petkovic, who came to Noisy-le-Sec from Mladost Zagreb this summer. He nailed 9 goals!.
Montpellier defeated FNC Douai. Montpellier players found themselves 6:8 down before the fourth quarter. But, they produced an amazing 6:1 rush in the last eight minutes and recorded a 12:9 victory.
Marseille, LEN Euro Cup winner, which will debut in the Champions League this season, thrashed Sete Natation 16:6.
The first round will be completed on Saturday, when reigning champion Strasbourg, which played in the qualifications for the Champions League last weekend, will host Nice on Saturday, while Reims and Pays d’Aix will face off in Reims.
