Marseille and Noisy-le-Sec are heading towards the final of the French League playoffs.
Marseille recorded a convincing away win over Montpellier (15:7) in the first semifinal leg. Noisy-le-Sec hosted reigning champion Strasbourg and earned a 4-goal advantage before the return leg (11:7).
Pays d’Aix was successful in the first match of the playoffs for 5th place.
2020/21 French Championship, playoffs
Semifinals (best-of-two), 1st leg
Noisy-le-Sec – Strasbourg 11:7 (2:0, 3:4, 1:1, 5:2)
Noisy: Petkovic 3, Marzouki 3, Caumette 2, Do Carmo 2, Peisson 1.
Strasbourg: Buha 2, Valentino 2, Culina 1, Cesca 1, Markovic 1.
Montpellier– Marseille 7:15 (0:5, 1:3, 5:4, 1:3)
Montpellier: Delas 2, Ivankovic 2, D. Zivkovic 2, Mustur 1.
Marseille: Crousillat 4, Camarasa 3, Cuckovic 2, Prlainovic 2, Vernoux 2, Marion-Vernoux 1, Vukicevic 1.
Noisy played perfectly in defense in the first quarter and a half. The Parisians took a 4:0 lead in the 11th minute. Still, Strasbourg managed to come back. By the end of the second quarter, the visitors cut the deficit (4:5), and they equalized with a power-play goal in the 20th minute (5:5). Noisy retook control in the fourth quarter, but the hosts needed a lot of time to secure a convincing victory. A minute and a half before the last buzzer, the difference between the sides was only two goals (9:7). Noisy scored two goals in the last two minutes and doubled Noisy’s advantage – 11:7.
Marseille was too strong for Montpellier. Marseille dominated the first half. In the middle of the second quarter, Marseille had a 7:0 lead and kept a 7-goal distance until halftime (8:1). The second half was quite balanced, but Marseille extended the margin of its win to eight (15:7).
For 5th place (best-of-two), 1st leg
Tourcoing – Pays d’Aix 7:9 (3:2, 1:2, 3:2, 0:3)
Tourcoing : Grgurevic 2, Krisman 2, Canonne 1, Randjic 1, Avena 1.
Pays d’Aix: Popadic 3, Gluhaic 3, D’Souza 2, Djerkovic 1.
Pays d’Aix earned a valuable 9:7 victory in the playoffs for 5th place. The duel between Tourcoing and Pays d’Aix will decide which team will play in the LEN Euro Cup. Tourcoing entered the fourth quarter leading 7:6. Still, the visitors netted three goals in the fourth period (D’Souza 2 and Djerkovic) for a 9:7 victory.
