LFH Division 1, Women – Round 23

ES BESANÇON FÉMININ VS TOULON MÉTROPOLE VAR HANDBALL 04/05/2024 - 8PM

Too many absences
Besançon didn't play last weekend as their match was postponed to allow Metz to prepare adequately for the Champions League. Consequently, they may encounter some difficulties getting back into the rhythm. On the other hand, Toulon managed to secure a valuable draw against Strasbourg, positioning them 12th, just 2 points behind Stella. While they have a bit of breathing room, they'll need more victories to solidify their position. However, facing Besançon will be challenging. They boast formidable duelists, with the Mairot sisters being particularly adept. They excel at engaging in duels and possess impressive shooting accuracy under such conditions. Alizee Frecon's return will also bring variety, as both sisters excel against opposing defenders. For Alizée, it will be her off-ball movement and evasive maneuvers that will create opportunities in close quarters. Toulon's defense has struggled against opposing duelists, managing to limit Strasbourg to 26 goals due to their lack of duelists. However, Besançon's style of play is the opposite, which could lead to frequent scoring opportunities for them. Thus, Toulon must be wary of being overwhelmed. Only Besançon's lack of rhythm and consistency could potentially work in Toulon's favor. However, Toulon is currently facing numerous injury absences. Players like Manon Lachaize and Eden Julien are sidelined either temporarily or long-term.

Overall, we should expect a match controlled from start to finish by Besançon. They're likely to emerge victorious with a scoreline around 34-27.


CHAMBRAY TOURAINE HANDBALL VS ST AMAND HANDBALL PORTE DU HAINAUT. 03/05/ 2024 - 8PM 

A beautiful dialectic
Chambray just secured a draw at Plan de Cuques, thanks to Johanna Stoiljkovic's return and her decisive shots with raised arms. They now face St Amand, who suffered a loss without rebounds against Nantes. Despite their offensive gameplay, which could have brought the surprise we expected, they failed to put in the effort in open spaces. As a result, they were regularly penalized, especially in rapid counterattacks. Such mistakes shouldn't occur at this level if they aim for improvement. They have the players to perform better when they're at full strength. Unfortunately, their focus is solely on offense, and Edina Szabo struggles to instill defensive sensitivity in them. This could still be a problem for them in their match against Chambray. Despite Chambray's strong defense, St Amand's offense will likely continue to find solutions. Their duel-oriented gameplay through isolation setups provides them with many opportunities. Clarisse Wild, who is returning to form after long injuries, also fits well into this style of play. However, their occasional offensive failures against the goalkeeper or the lack of defensive transition undermine their efforts. Will they finally manage to reverse this trend this weekend?

Perhaps, as Chambray's offense, on the contrary, may lack sharpness. However, Manon Houette's return on the left wing could single-handedly dismantle the Tourangelles' ambitions on fast breaks. But we anticipate another closely contested match.
It's a fascinating clash of styles with a strong offense against one of the best defenses in the league on one side, and on the other, one of the weakest offenses against one of the weakest defenses. This opposition promises to be unique.

While conventional wisdom might suggest a victory for Chambray, with Agathe Quiniou once again solid in goal, their lack of major stakes could lead to a surprise in the final moments, perhaps with Stelvia Pascoal playing a decisive role. This is why St Amand could emerge victorious with a possible scoreline of 30-29.


JDA BOURGOGNE DIJON HANDBALL VS PARIS 92.
03/05/ 2024 - 8PM

Modern handball
Paris, who secured a comfortable victory against the bottom team, now faces a very challenging match away to Dijon. Paris aims to maintain their third position, secured the previous week against Nantes. However, to do so, they must win in Burgundy. This won't be easy against Anthony Favier's players, who have been delivering impressive performances consistently. Dijon epitomizes modern handball, and this could be their key to success against the physicality of Paris.
Their rapid transition play to attack with six players exploits many opportunities for superiority in fast breaks due to their speed and positioning. They often capitalize on opponents' lag in defensive transition. Over a third of their goals come from open spaces. In structured attacks, they display dynamic gameplay, focusing on clear and effective initial actions before transitioning into continuity. Their scoring distribution is so spread out that most of their matches' score sheets are filled with contributions from every player, making them difficult to defend against. However, to execute such a style effectively, they need a standout player, which they have in Céline Sivertsen, the experienced Norwegian right back at 31. She excels in interval plays, duels, and is a proficient shooter from the seven-meter line, making her the team's top scorer. Additionally, they utilize aerial plays above the defense, adding excitement to their tactical approach.

This modern style of play could enable Dijon to pull off an upset against Paris. However, Paris plays with great heart, overcoming any setbacks this season that could have disturbed them. The scoreline could hover around 34-33. The match will undoubtedly be closely contested and decided by small margins, but we give the edge to the enjoyable modern handball style.


LES NEPTUNES DE NANTES VS OGC NICE CÔTE D’AZUR HANDBALL 05/05/2024 - 5PM

A place on the podium
Nantes, who lost their third place to Paris 92 two weeks ago, would like to reclaim it. The weekend matchups could allow them to do so. After a brilliant victory against St Amand away, they must win this Sunday against Nice. Nice, who logically lost at home to Brest. How should this victory be achieved?

It should come through Nantes' expansive style of play. Stretching their game allows them to widen the spaces between defenders and exploit them regularly. This is facilitated by quality wingers, and Nantes certainly has them. With Marine Dupuis on the left wing, Émilie Bellec and Kelly Vollebregt on the right wing, they scored half of their team's goals last weekend: 9, 4, and 3 respectively. Dupuis, in particular, will join Nice next season. Known for her excellent shot to the far post and her wrist flexibility to place the ball often in the top corner, she's a formidable talent. But she's not the only Nantes player heading to Nice next season. There's also Marie Hélène Sajka, the prolific right-back. These are two significant signings to strengthen Nice's squad next season. With Nantes facing budget cuts, tough choices had to be made. However, for now, these players want to prove to their future employer that they are among the best in their positions. Both could even end up as the top scorers in this match.

Therefore, we might see a logical and comprehensive defeat for Nice, who will take solace in their recruitment for the next season. The scoreline could hover around 35-26. They'll hope for a reversal of fortunes next season.


BREST BRETAGNE HANDBALL VS METZ HANDBALL
08/05/2024 - 8PM

Match of the year
Here it is. The highly anticipated grand final is finally here. Brest is undefeated with 22 victories in 22 matches. Metz has won everything except for their defeat in the first leg against Brest. A narrow loss that all the players will have in mind. The score was 23-22 in favor of the Bretons. The head-to-head goal difference might be crucial in separating the French champions this year.
This clash is the confrontation between the best defense and the best attack of the championship against the second-best attack and the best defense. Metz dominates all statistical categories, and yet it is Brest who sits atop the leaderboard.
This much-awaited match arrives just after Metz's double confrontation against Bucharest. Comfortable in the first leg with their three-goal victory, they could enter this clash tired but full of confidence after securing their spot in the Champions League final four. And as Patrice Canayer showed with Montpellier, refusing to postpone their match demonstrates that the concept of rhythm and the sequence of high-intensity matches are crucial for maintaining their level of play.
So, this is one of the key points of this showdown. Brest will sorely lack rhythm after a break of two and a half weeks. They will struggle to get into gear and elevate their engagement, things they will not have done during training. In training, one tries to match the intensity of a match as closely as possible, but it is not possible because it always lacks the aggressiveness, adversity, and pressure that come with an official match.
Therefore, we might see Brest spinning their wheels in attack, lacking sharpness, and getting punished on counterattacks and fast breaks. The match could be decided by halftime. Brest may manage to exploit Metz's fatigue late in the game, but it will likely be too late.
The magical trio with Chloé Bouquet, Sarah Bouktit, and Kristina Jørgensen should once again lead their team. They are the third, fourth, and fifth top scorers in the league. The three of them average between 6.7 and 5.7 goals per match. Most of the decisive passes are made by Kristina in the center of Metz's attack.

When Patrice Canayer speaks, we listen, and here is the explanation of managing a group's rhythm. Metz should therefore emerge victorious and regain the head-to-head goal difference with a scoreline around 34-28. They will then just need to avoid obstacles to claim the title. This includes the trip to Paris and the home match against Chambray. Brest, on the other hand, will hope for a stumbling block to snatch a title this year.


STELLA SAINT-MAUR HANDBALL VS PM HANDBALL PLAN DE CUQUES. 03/05/2024 - 8:30 PM

In search of Europe
The Stella is still at the bottom. The draw between Strasbourg and Toulon doesn't really help them. They are now two points behind these two teams and therefore fighting for survival. They lost logically to Paris 92 with a score of 35-26. But they don't have a favorable head-to-head goal difference against Strasbourg and Toulon. They can only hope to improve their goal difference against Toulon in the last match of the championship, which could be decisive. But Toulon won the first leg 32- 25. So they have 7 goals to catch up, which seems very complicated. Otherwise, they'll need an extraordinary performance earlier. Can it be this Friday against Plan de Cuques? Not really, as the Provençal team is still in contention for a European spot. But for that, they need to maintain their 6th place. Dijon is just one point behind them. The battle is intense. They are coming off a good performance with their draw against Chambray.

Angelique Spencer's players should not ease the pressure. Against the Stella, Jemima Kabeya is expected to shine once again. At just 20 years old, she's been having a great season as a goalkeeper. Often comfortable up close due to her explosiveness, she also improves from afar and in reading the opposing shooters. The worst attack in the championship is likely to face a solid defense. In this matchup, she could make over 14 saves. This will allow the Provençal team to exploit the game on all terrains, as they know how to do perfectly. Manon Grimaud, as the spearhead, should once again launch Justine Martel and Chloé Bellonet, the arrows on fast breaks.

Plan de Cuques will then exceed 30 goals and should leave the Stella with only 25. They would then have only three more matches before celebrating Europe.


STRASBOURG ACHENHEIM TRUCHTERSHEIM HANDBALL VS MÉRIGNAC HANDBALL 04/05/2024 - 8:30 PM

A great opportunity

Strasbourg holds such an opportunity to secure their place in the Butagaz Énergie League. Still vulnerable to surprises from the Stella, Strasbourg could put themselves out of danger. But the same goes for Mérignac. A little less worried with a two-point lead over Strasbourg and four over the Stella, they could officially secure their survival this Saturday. It's a positive match for both teams to approach. There's little real pressure but a positive outcome for one of the two teams. The Alsacians must be disappointed with their draw conceded against Toulon, just 4 seconds from the end on a free-kick. But it still brought them two precious points in this confrontation. They would also be pleased to earn more points against Mérignac. They narrowly missed out against the strong team of Dijon.

But the absences hurt Mérignac. Christophe Chagnard is forced to field Louane Texier, one of his wingers, in the backcourt. Their game plan is like this for now. A setup to launch their back players or create a strong move on a two-player connection, then nothing more. There's very little danger in continuity. And that's where Nele Antonissen, still the top scorer in the league, forces the game and often fails. But that's due to the lack of commitment in continuity from her teammates. If the first move is managed, the rest is sterile. The Strasbourg players will have to focus on mastering the opponents' initial movements, either through their defense or through Léa Fargues, their goalkeeper, who was exceptional last weekend. Her reading of the opponents' shooters makes her one of the best goalkeepers in terms of saves in this championship. However, watch out for the physical qualities of Mélissa Chantelly, who shows incredible maturity at her age.

In attack, the outward game of the Alsacian players will work very well against Mérignac. It's unclear why the Bordeaux players remain parallel to the zone and leave a lot of gaps even when they don't exist.

That's why we believe Strasbourg will win in a tight and closed match with a score around 26-24. Only Toulon would remain in danger of relegation.