The two encounters between the French teams that will play in the European stage this season offered a lot of excitement in the 3rd round of the national league.
Marseille beat Tourcoing 12:10. Pays d’Aix and Noisy-le-Sec shared the points (9:9) in a match that had a spectacular finish. Pays d’Aix secured the point thanks to its goalkeeper Slaven Kandic who equalized the score a few seconds before the end.
2020/21 French League, Day 3
Tourcoing – Marseille 10:12 (3:2, 2:4, 2:5, 3:1)
Tourcoing Lille Metropole: Canonne 3, Randjic 3, Kujacic 2,Grgurevic 1,
CN Marseille: Vukicevic 4, Djurdjic 2, Prlainovic 2, Crousillat 2, Cuckovic 1, Marion-Vernoux 1.
Pays d’Aix – Noisy-le-Sec 9:9 (2:2, 1:4, 2:0, 4:3)
Pays d’Aix : Popadic 3, Khasz 1, Djerkovic 1, Monneret 1, D’Souza 1, Gluhaic 1, Kandic 1
Noisy-le-Sec: Petkovic 3,Causette 1, Bjorch 1, Do Carmo 1, Peisson 1, Marzouki 1, Krapic 1.
Sete – Bordeaux 18:2 (3:0, 6:0, 5:1, 4:1)
Sete Natation: Alfonso Pozo 3, Furman 3, Aquila 2, Viera 2, Porobic 2, Mijuskovic 1,Sauton 1, Chandieu 2.
Bordeaux: Linchenau 1, Cohat 1.
Douai –Reims 9:5 (4:2, 2:2, 2:1, 1:0)
FNC Douai: Bouet 4, Balaz 2, Spooner 1, Lepoint 1, Begovic 1.
Stade de Reims: Caraj 3, Krivokapic 1, Vix 1.
Montpellier – Strasbourg 6:14 (3:4, 2:2, 1:5, 0:3)
Montpellier: I. Zivkovic 2, D. Zivkovic 2, Spilliaret 1, Mustur 1.
Strasbourg: Culina 3, Markovic 3, Missy 2, Buha 2, Chion 1, Babic 1, Misic 1, Valentino 1.
Nice bye
There were many twists and turns in the match between Pays d’Aix and Noisy-le-Sec, played in Aix-en-Provence. The hosts started well and gained a 2:0 lead, but the Parisiens responded with five goals and went 5:2 up. At halftime, Noisy led 6:3.
Still, Pays d’Aix managed to come back and to catch the rival in the fourth period. Before the last minute, the opponents were tied (8:8). Noisy earned a new lead – 9:8 with 18 seconds to go. Then, Pays d’Aix goalkeeper Slaven Kandic decided to take the match into his own hands. The Montenegrin swam with the ball into the Noisy’s half of the field and joined his teammates in attack. Kandic started and finished that crucial possession. The visitors couldn’t adjust their defense to 7 on 6 situation. Nobody guarded Kandic, who didn’t pass the ball to any of his teammates. Kandic had a clear shot a few seconds before the end. He didn’t miss and secured a point for his team.
Tourcoing and Marseille also fought a hard battle. Tourcoing started better. The hosts had a 3:2 advantage after the first eight minutes. The second quarter belonged to Marseille, and the visitors had a slim advantage (6:5) before the third quarter. Marseille, led by Ante Vukicevic, built a 4-goal lead before the final period (11:7). But, the hosts didn’t give in. They took control in the fourth period and cut the deficit to one (10:11) with two minutes and 46 seconds remaining on the clock.
After that, both sides had their chances, but both goalkeepers (Lazovic from Marseille and Dubois from Tourcoing) were outstanding in the final minutes. Tourcoing forced an exclusion 19 seconds before the end and had a chance to equalize with a man-up. But, the hosts lost the ball, and they paid for that. Ante Vukicevic scored from a counter-attack four seconds from the end for the final score – 12:10.
Strasbourg beat Montpellier easier than it was expected. The first half was quite balanced, but Montpellier ran out of gas for the 3rd and 4th quarters, and the titleholder recorded a convincing win.
Douai and Sete collected their first points this season by convincing wins over their respective rivals.
1.Marseille 3 – 9
2.Strasbourg 3 – 9
3. Noisy-le-Sec 3 – 7
4.Montpellier 3 – 6
5. Pays d’Aix 3 – 4
6. Tourcoing 3 – 3
7.Douai 2 – 3
8. Sete 2 – 3
9. Reims 2 – 0
10.Nice 2 – 0
11. Bordeaux 3 – 0
