Another derby win

News

Two weeks after their last Lidl StarLigue match - the victory in Nîmes (27-31) - Paris Saint-Germain Handball were back in league action the Lidl Starligue Round 10 trip to Créteil on Sunday afternoon. Despite sitting atop the standings while Créteil were in 13th, the capital club were wary of this derby, as their neighbours never give in easily.

The lessons of the past at the Palais des Sports Robert Oubron seem to have been well learned by Les rouge et Bleu, who started the match in ideal fashion (4': 2-3). Despite Dylan Soyez's heroics in the home goal, our players managed to find the opening on several occasions and thus make the break (6': 2-5). Then, thanks in particular to Elohim Prandi's skills from the nine-metre line, they pulled clear!

While our wingers had some difficulty finding their cutting edge, the rear-guard, composed of Elo, Nedim Remili and Mikkel Hansen, hardly hesitated when it came time to try their luck (14': 5-11). They also set up the forwards to shine, prodding assists for Adama Keita and Ferran Solé, who both conjured cheeky lobs to keep the scoreboard ticking over (17': 7-13) as our team carved out a comfortable lead (20': 8-15).

a22i7687

Paris's lead owed plenty to an excellent Yann Genty in goal (23': 8-17). At half-time, our 'keeper had accrued a save rate of 57%, with 13 attempts on goal denied. Thanks to this kind of solidity in every sector, Raul Gonzalez's saw their lead climb to ten goals (24': 8-18) before blowing out even further by half-time!

Although they were comfortably ahead, the Parisians refused to let up. On the contrary, every goal conceded was followed by a quick engagement and an immediate response (35': 13-25). Faced with a young team, this seriousness and application meant that the capital club maintained the upper hand - even more so when Yann pulled off his trademark move - the 'pastis' to set up Adama to score on the counter.

As the last quarter of an hour approached, the outcome of the match no longer seemed to be in question (44': 18-31). Back from injury, Kamil Syprzak took advantage of the opportunity to regain some match fitness - and get his sights back in (49': 20-34). It was also the occasion for youth academy centre-half Baptiste Clay to take his first steps with the senior team, less than less than minutes before the end (52': 22-36). And it took him almost no time at all to bag his first goal, from the seven-metre line!

news_reacs_creteil_psg

Baptiste also tried his luck from nine metres, with equal success (58': 27-39). Paris Saint-Germain Handball ran out comfortable winners, maintaining their perfect start to the season with a ninth win from as many matches!

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)