Strasbourg and Pays d’Aix narrowly defeated their respective rivals in derby games of the 20th round of the French League.
Strasbourg earned three points in the match against Noisy-le-Sec 11:10. Pays d’Aix bested Tourcoing – 14:13. Strasbourg and Aix continued their neck and neck race. The teams are still tied in points, but after the 20th round, they share 2nd and 3rd place, while Noisy dropped to 4th place. Besides, Noisy has played one match more than PAN and Strasbourg.
2020/21 French League
Day 20
Strasbourg – Noisy-le-Sec 11:10 (2:1, 3:2, 2:4, 4:3)
Team Strasbourg: Markovic 3, Denux 2, Valentino 2, Buden 1, Culina 1, Cesca 1, Babic 1.
Noisy-le-Sec:Bjorch 3, Marzouki 2, Krapic 2, Guerin 1, Do Carmo 1, Peisson 1,
Pays d’Aix – Tourcoing 14:13 (5:4, 3:4, 3:3, 3:2)
Pays d’Aix: Gagulic 4, Gluhaic 4, Dino 3, Popadic 1, Khasz 1, D’Souza 1.
Tourcoing: Randjic 4, Rocchietta 2, Canonne 2, Krisman 1, Vincourt 1, Grgurevic 1, Banicevic 1, Kujacic 1.
Douai – Montpellier 10:11 (1:2, 3:2, 4:1, 2:6)
Douai: Balaz 4,Croquet 2, Begovic 1, Bouet 1, Vitrant 1, Lepoint 2.
Montpellier: Ivankovic 5, Mustur 2, D. Zivkovic 2, I. Zivkovic 1, Kalinic 1.
Nice – Sete 16:8 (3:6, 3:0, 4:0, 6:2)
Nice: Colak 5, Gardikas 3, Cakic 2, Bachelier 1, Butic 1, Canovas 1, De Nardi 2,Cutovic 1.
Sete: Furman 3, Alfonso Pozo 2, Chandieu 2, Porobic 1.
Reims – Bordeaux 19:5 (4:4, 3:1, 7:0, 5:0)
Reims: Calic 4, Vix 4, Pesteric 2, Krivokapic 2, Dulin 2, Caraj 2, Le Goff 1, Lambert 1, Signoret 1.
Bordeaux: Gadza 2, Toth 2, Lincheneau 1.
Re-scheduled matches
Day 21
Reims – Marseille 6:21 (1:5, 0:5, 3:6, 2:5)
Stade de Reims: Calic3, Lambert 1, Pesteric 1, Vix 1.
Marseille: Vernoux 6, Izdinsky 3, Prlainovic 3, Marion-Vernoux 3, Spaic 2, Djurdic 1, Kovacevic 1, Vukicevic 1, Olivon 1.
Day 22
Douai – Marseille 10:16 (2:5, 1:5, 2:3, 5:3)
FNC Douai: Bouet 3, Michel 2, Vitrant 2, Balaz 1, Croquet 1, Begovic 1.
Marseille: Spaic 4, Prlainovic 3, Vernoux 3, Vukicevic 3, Marion-Vernoux 2, Izdinsky 1.
Pays d’Aix defeated Tourcoing after a hard-fought battle. There were a few twists and turns in the first half, but Pays d’Aix mainly was ahead. Early in the second quarter, Aix managed to build a 2-goal advantage (6:4, 7:5). Still, Tourcoing caught up with the rival before the end of the 1st half (8:8).
The visitors took control after the middle break, and they led throughout the third quarter (9:8, 10:9, 11:10). But, the teams entered the fourth quarter from the same starting point (11:11). In the 29th minute, Maroje Gluhaic converted a man-up to give Pays d’Aix a two-goal lead (14:12). Miroslav Randjic responded immediately to cut the deficit 13:14. The tensions run high, but there were no goals in the remaining time and Pays d’Aix celebrated a win. The price of the victory was very high. Three players of the home team were red-carded – Thomas Saux, Enzo Khasz, and Slaven Kandic (the latter received the red card after the match because of a protest ) and both coaches. Head coach Alexandre Donsimoni and his assistant Alexandre Colin were excluded in the fourth quarter.
Reigning champion Strasbourg defeated Noisy in one of the crucial matches in the battle for 2nd place in the standings. Strasbourg dictated the pace. The hosts even had a 3-goal lead several times (4:1, 7:4). But, Noisy managed to keep up with the host and to come back from time to time. For the last time, the Parisians equalized two seconds before the last break (7:7). However, Strasbourg opened the fourth period with four straight goals. In the 28th minute, the distance between the sides was four goals for the first time (11:7). But, the contest wasn’t over yet. The visitors reduced the gap with 53 seconds remaining on the clock (10:11). Still, Strasburg kept the minimal advantage and big three points.
A thrilling game was played in Douai. Montpellier defeated home team FNC Douai 11:10 and climbed into 5th place. After this loss, Douai has slim chances of reaching the sixth place and qualifying for the playoffs. Douai had an 8:5 advantage before the final eight minutes, but Montpellier dominated the last quarter. Four minutes before the end, Montpellier leveled the score (9:9). Still, the hosts regained a lead shortly after. However, Montpellier scored two goals in the last two minutes to secure the three points. Ivan Zivkovic netted a winner 40 seconds before the final buzzer.
The league leader Marseille played two re-scheduled matches earlier this week and recorded comfortable victories.
1 Marseille 19 – 57
2 Pays d’Aix 17 – 36*
3 Strasbourg 17 – 36*
4 Noisy-le-Sec 18 – 34
5 Montpellier 18 – 30
6 Tourcoing 18 – 27
7 Douai 17 – 22
8 Reims 19 – 16
9 Sete 18 – 14
10 Nice 17 – 11
11 Bordeaux 18 – 0
*Head to head: Pays d’Aix 6 points, Strasbourg 0
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