Handball

LNH DIVISION 1 – Round 12

Salvo

Nov 28, 2023 • 9 min read

PAYS AIX UNIVERSITÉ CLUB HANDBALL VS CHAMBÉRY SAVOIE HB 02/12/23 19:30 CET

Aix in reaction

Just as they were cruising to victory at Ivry last Friday, leading by 3 goals with 2 minutes to go, Aix cracked in the final seconds. They went completely off the rails and ultimately let the hosts win.
How to recover from such a scenario? It's a good way to get back into the swing of things, as the Chambéry match promises to be a complex affair. The Savoyards, for their part, are coming off a prestigious victory over third-placed Toulouse.
Once again, the match promises to be indecisive. We'll see whether the Aix-en-Provence team reacts with pride or remains affected by their unexpected defeat.
In terms of play, the problems of attacking play are still present, but they are compensated by their defensive density, coupled with their goalkeeper's exploits in close quarters. This enabled them to find new solutions on the fast break. With their new-found confidence, the shooters began to let loose again.
Aix made the difference by regularly attacking Paturel, Brouzet and Pecina at the front, with a series of crosses to exploit solutions on the outside. Victory against Chambéry will depend on the backs knowing how to work in the 1-2 interval and develop their relationships with their wingers. Sime Ivic, Aix-en-Provence's right-back, has this quality and should therefore be effective in this opposition.
On the Chambéry side, the arrival of Lucas Vanegue from Villeurbanne could open up new solutions, particularly on the fast break, but would reduce the playing time of Sebastian Skube, the uncompromising master of the Savoyard game. Uncompromising when it comes to misreading his team-mates.
And so, in a tight match, we're still expecting Pays d'Aix to win, with a great Wesley Pardin in goal to ensure Aix's defensive efficiency. It should be a match without too many goals.

CESSON RENNES MÉTROPOLE HB VS US IVRY HANDBALL 30/11/23 19:30 CET

Undecided match at every level

After their last-gasp success against Aix, will Ivry continue their winning ways? All bets are off in a match of great importance for their survival. The pressure should be on in this match.
A "match under tension", the difference should be made on the quality of the defenders and goalkeepers.
Arnaud Tabarand, Cesson's slightly recovered goalkeeper, could make all the difference if Cesson tightened up their defense and made way for Ivry's wingers, who were struggling to finish. Unfortunately, from what we can see, this is not part of their initial plan. Above all, we think that Romain Briffe, who is very angry at the moment, could be disqualified and cause defensive problems in the central sector of the Bretonne defense. The destructive project of this defense should highlight the dueling qualities of the Ivry team if the attack keeps up its movements. So we're looking at a match with plenty of penalties, where the Ivryens will have to exploit the extra manpower intelligently.
Opposite them, we have a Cesson offensive team with 3 faces. You'd have to be schizophrenic to play a fluid game. One side, with Rémi Salou playing so far out that we can only focus on his quality as a long-range striker, and the other side, with his two-man game. Another face with Daniel Mosindi. He has plenty of explosive qualities and is sharp in his play. But his center-halves have to build to open up space for him, knowing that the ball won't leave his hands after his duels. And last but not least, Ludwig Appolinaire's right-handed three-a-side game is the most qualitative of the moment, as he makes the most of the qualities of his team-mates.
There's no doubt that Dinart's defense will have created defensive solutions in every area to thwart the Bretons' plans.
So we're looking at a very tight game, with less than 30 goals for each team and Ivry winning by the slimmest of margins, unless Arnaud Tabarand wakes up and exceeds the 40% save mark.

C’CHARTRES MÉTROPOLE HANDBALL VS SAINT-RAPHAËL VHB 01/12/23 19:00 CET

A descent into hell?

Chartres, already in dire straits over the past month, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Créteil and now find themselves with two more players on the sidelines, with Matic Groselj out with a knee injury and Sergey Kudinov with a back injury. These are in addition to Adrian Figueras' injury. As a result, young French pivot Jund Hugo's performance has dropped off, with a poor 5 out of 10 last weekend.
The match is likely to follow a similar pattern this Friday, with Chartraine's attack making a few splashes with Yvan Verin, but finding itself in trouble as the game progresses, with players lacking impact from distance and gradually forcing the relationship with their pivot. Saint Raphaël won't necessarily need to tighten up around the pivot, as they will be able to exploit Chartra's difficulties in falling back, either on fast break or on rising ball, with the sharp centre-half José Marquez in the middle. In fact, leaving the shooting to the pivot could prove beneficial, as the delay caused by Ilia Abutovic's change of defense, still in the central sector, would create a huge gap in the axis of their retreat. And this happens to be one of the main qualities of the Saint Raphaël team. If their defense gets the job done, we have no worries about how this weekend's match will pan out.
We should see a big win for Saint-Raphaël, with a lot of quick-fire goals against a Chartrain goalkeeper who was left a little too much to his own devices, and who often made his saves prematurely, making them easy to read for the opposing shooters.

DIJON MÉTROPOLE HB VS PM HBC NANTES 02/12/23 13:45 CET

No room for doubt

Dijon is coming off a fine two-goal 32-30 win at Dunkirk, but this is a completely different mountain to climb. And the mountain to climb is Viktor Hallgrimsson, Iceland's tallest goalkeeper at 203 cm. His regular performances, averaging 8 saves per game, combined with a defense that can adapt to different opposing profiles, should give Dijon hypoglycemia on the way up the mountain.
Even if we have the impression that Dijon's coach listened to us the week before, with the more consistent use of his center-half Jules Lignères last week as a key passer. This Saturday, unfortunately, we don't have a recipe for tipping the balance.
Above all, we expect Nantes to win by around 40 goals, with a 10-goal differential.
Indeed, with this field combined with an attack in which every sector can make a difference, Nantes should be able to use this match to give their key players a breather and give their younger players a bit of playing time.
We therefore expect Théo Avelange Demouge and Baptiste Damatrin to score heavily during the match.

LIMOGES HAND 87 VS USAM NIMES GARD 01/12/23 19:00 CET

Victory of the heart?

What a pleasure to see Nîmes back playing with their greatest asset for years! Heart and passion!
And that's certainly what sets the two teams apart this evening, as we see a Limoges team with qualities but no soul. So they were very dependent on the mood and state of mind of some of their players.
All balls on the floor or hot balls should therefore go to Nîmes. Boïba Sissoko, perhaps finally recovered from his long injury and used to good effect last weekend. He should create problems for Tomislav Kusan and Timmy Petit, Limoges' 3 central players, leaving Acquevillo and Tobie to exploit the delays around him. Limoges' static play is unlikely to cause any problems for the Nîmes team. Although Ihor Turchenko is currently performing very well, he is often forced to launch his shots independently.
It's up to Nîmois to be good in the early stages or in defensive duels, against a Limousin team unable to string together two strong periods in a row without a weak period and without a shutdown player.
Watch out, though, for Slavic Dino in goal, who has been in fine form since the start of the season and single-handedly put the Cesson team to the sword last week with 19 saves and a 44% save rate.

We therefore expect a large victory by Nîmes, to build their confidence for the rest of the season.

MONTPELLIER HANDBALL VS US CRÉTEIL HANDBALL 03/12/23 15:00 CET

A modern game to suit all tastes!

We're looking forward to a highly entertaining match with plenty of goals. Two games focused on speed and link-ups, with plenty of impact players on both sides of the pitch. We should see two similar games, but the experience and technical quality of Montpellier's players should make the difference over the length of the match.
MHB, who are coming off two games without a win in the league, need to get the ball rolling again. Charles Bolzinger, who came into his own in the clash with PSG, should regain some playing time and make the difference with his stature and arm-projecting saves. Montpellier will undoubtedly reduce the scope for action of Cristolien right-winger Mario Lopez, who has put in some fine performances, averaging 6 goals a game.
Then we see Montpellier's central defense with Karl Olivier Konan and Veron Nacinovic give young Kylian Rigault a hard time, but only for the length of the match. A future Tremblay recruit, Kylian should exploit his shooting ability in the early stages of the match, but will run out of steam as the game progresses, leaving the door open to counter-attackers. Yannis Lenne, back on the right wing, should benefit from this. Let's also hope that Sebastian Karlsson, who was stretchered off last weekend, is in good health. According to our information, he is, but he should be preserved this Sunday.
We therefore expect Montpellier to win against a Créteil team. And Brazilian left-back Bryan Monté will continue to make an impact, causing problems for defender Rémi Leventoux.

SARAN LOIRET HB VS DUNKERQUE HANDBALL GRAND LITTORAL
01/12/23 19:00 CET

Beware the vanquished

Saran, the league's new red lantern, takes on Dunkerque, who have just been shocked by the league's former lantern, Dijon. The latter are now one point ahead of Saran. A reaction is therefore expected from Dunkerque. There's no doubt that the absence of center-half Jean Loup Faustin last weekend weighed heavily on the outcome of the match.
And this Saran team may be lacking duelists to make the difference, as Dijon did by regularly attacking the right side of the Dunkirk defense, i.e. Tom Pelayo and Gabin Martinez. Perhaps Romuald Kollé will make the difference in this sector, but the collective game should be weakened by his lack of technical interpersonal skills with the other players. In particular, his ability to pass the ball after a duel.
Jordi Deumal should have plenty of options on the left wing, but could find himself in trouble against Valentin Kieffer in the Dunkirk goal.
We don't see Dunkerque going two games without a win, or any commitment.
Their reaction should come this Friday, and we'll be looking for a Dunkerque victory - not an easy one, of course.

FÉNIX TOULOUSE HANDBALL VS PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HANDBALL 03/05/23 16:00 CET

The first big surprise of the year?

Paris is coming off an intense week, with a fine victory over Montpellier and a showdown with Kiel on Thursday. This is the trap match par excellence against a fine Toulouse team who play the ball well and should be out for revenge after their unexpected defeat by Chambéry. The defense, which usually has such an impact, was nowhere to be seen. This confirms that without the necessary commitment in this contact sport, the result will automatically be reflected. And that's what could happen to Paris this weekend.
The sheer volume of Toulousain's defense could have opened the door to Kamil Syprzak, but the Polish pivot has been out with a foot injury since the Champions League loss to Kolstad last Thursday. The Parisian attack is likely to be impacted by this, particularly against these defensive combinations. And, as we said earlier, this is a match in which a player like Elohim Prandi can lower his intensity and therefore his effectiveness through less commitment.
The only player who always puts 100% of his physical energy into every match is Parisian playmaker Luc Steins. He will certainly have to work hard to help the Parisian team to victory.
There's no doubt that the team's already-tightened-up defense, which provides solutions on the wings where goalkeeper Jeff Lettens performs best, will be the order of the day this weekend.
It's up to Matthieu Grebille, Ferran Sole and David Balaguer to perform to bring PSG victory.
So we're expecting a very tight match that could end in a major upset.
Come on, let's get wet, Toulouse win, with Jeff Lettens having great success on the Paris wingers. Either way, it's going to be a nail-biter and could well end in a draw.

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