A thrilling derby match between Tourcoing and Strasbourg, which was ended with no winner,(14:14) was the highlight of the 21st round of the French League.
The point in this match was enough for Strasbourg to secure 2nd place in the regular season, which means that it has already qualified for the semifinals.
Sete helped Strasbourg. Sete made a big surprise with an 11:5 victory over Pays d’Aix. After the loss, Pays d’Aix is out of the race for 2nd place.
Marseille and Strasbourg will play in the semifinals, while the teams ranked 3rd-6th will battle in the quarterfinals
2020/21 French League, Day 21
Sete – Pays d’Aix 11:5 (2:2, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1)
Sete: Kopelaidis 3, Mijuskovic 2, Beteille 1, Lopinot 1, Alfonso Pozo 1, Furman 1, Porobic 1, Chandieu 1.
Pays d’Aix:Dino 2,Veron 1, Popadic 1, Khasz 1.
Tourcoing – Strasbourg 14:14 (3:5, 6:5, 3:2, 2:2)
Tourcoing: Grgurevic 4, Kujacic 4, Randjic 2, Rocchietta 2, Canonne 1, Krisman 1.
Strasbourg: Markovic 3, Valentino 3, Buha 2, Culina 2, Denix 2, Misic 2.
Montpellier – Nice 12:7 (3:2, 3:0, 3:2, 3:3)
Montpellier: Ivankovic 4, Delas 3, Kalinic 3, Mustur 1, D.Zivkovic 1.
Nice: Butic 2, Colak 2, Bachelier 1, Mutambayi 1, Gardikas 1.
Douai – Bordeaux postponed
Played earlier
Reims – Marseille 6:21
Noisy-le-Sec bye
Strasbourg opened the match against Tourcoing excellently. The reigning champion had a 3:0 lead in the middle of the first period. In the 6th minute, Strasbourg increased the margin to four (5:1). In the second quarter, Strasbourg was maintaining a 3-goal difference (7:4, 8:5, 9:6). But, Tourcoing was able to come back. Just a second before the middle break, Tourcoing’s Kuajcic scored for 9:10. The same player opened the third period and leveled the score – 10:10. From that point on, the teams were in a neck-and-neck race. Before the fourth quarter, the score was 12:12. Tourcoing entered the last minute with a 14:13 advantage, but Pavo Markovic saved a valuable point for Strasbourg with a goal scored just 17 seconds before the final buzzer.
Tourcoing will also play in the playoffs because it is almost impossible that Douai can catch up with them. Sixth-placed Tourcoing has six points more than seventh-placed Douai and has played a match more than its rival for place 6.. Tourcoing and Douai are tied in head-to-head duels (both matches were ended in a tie), but Tourcoing has a much better goal difference.
Sete upset Pays d’Aix and moved from 9th to 8th place. The match was an even contest until 3:3. Early in the third period, Sete built a 2-goal lead for the first time (5:3). The hosts led 7:4 after the third period. In the first minute of the last period, Sete went 8:4 up, and Pays d’Aix couldn’t come back anymore.
Montpellier defeated Nice and cemented 5th place.
Re-scheduled matches
(played earlier this week)
Day 13
Pays d’Aix – Marseille 9:15 (3:4, 4:4, 1:4, 1:3)
Pays d’Aix: Dino 3, Khasz 2, Chauffour 1, Popadic 1, Monneret 1, Gluhaic 1.
Marseille: Vernoux 3, Crousillat 3, Olivon 2, Prlainovic 2, Vanpeperstraete 2, Kovacevic 1, Vukicevic 1, Camarasa 1.
Day 15
Douai –Strasbourg 8:14 (1:5, 4:2, 2:5, 1:2)
Douai : Bouet 3, Michel 2, Spooner 2, Degaille 1.
Strasbourg : Valentino 4, Chion 2, Culina 2, Cesca 1, Babic 2, Denux 1, Misic 2.
1 Marseille 20 – 60
2 Strasbourg 19 – 40
3 Pays d’Aix 19 – 36
4 Noisy-le-Sec 18 – 34
5 Montpellier 19 – 33
6 Tourcoing 19 – 28
7 Douai 18 – 22
8 Sete 19 – 17
9 Reims 19 – 16
10 Nice 18 – 11
11 Bordeaux 18 – 0
All articles about the French League
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