In the right direction

Match reports

On Sunday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball were in Liqui Moly StarLigue Rond 17 action. The objective? To stay level with leaders Montpellier, who beat Nîmes on Saturday evening (28-29). But to do so, they had to win at the Centre Municipal Intercommunal de Sélestat. Despite sitting in last place, SAHB were coming off a good win against Cesson-Rennes (28-29), and it was clearly not going to be a walk in the park for the Parisians!

As expected, the Alsatians were not to be underestimated and they started the game better (6': 4-2), despite a penalty save from Andreas Palicka. Little by little, the capital club found its rhythm and the lift in quality followed soon after. However, it was still not enough to get back on level terms, as our players missed several chances from 9m, 7m and 6m (12': 7-6). At the end of the first quarter of an hour, Les Rouge et Bleu were still chasing the game, in particular because of the excellent Robin Mathias, who was having a blinder in the Sélestat goal (16': 8-7).

Andreas responded perfectly to his SAHB counterpart and made some magnificent saves that allowed his team to take the lead (18': 8-9). The Swedish international made an exceptional double save and continued to scare the opposing offensive line. The Parisians' offensive line started to do better and soon made the break (20': 8-10). Our 'keeper was well aided by a solid defence, which shut up shop for several long minutes (22': 9-12). After a more difficult end to the first half (28': 13-15), Raul Gonzalez's men were in the lead at the break.

As the second half began, the capital club maintained the lead (34': 16-19). Henrik Toft Hansen had a lot of influence, both in the defensive and offensive sectors, and shook the net on several occasions (42': 21-25). It was this seriousness at both ends of the field that took Les Rouge et Bleu to +5 against a team that was nevertheless playing well (42': 21-26). Indeed, Sélestat got themselves into a position to re-launch the game as the final moments start to approach (46': 23-27).

But Elohim Prandi is not very fond of suspense! The French international pulverised the top corner of The Alsace side's goal and restored Paris' five-goal lead (47': 23-28). However, it was still too early to celebrate the victory (52': 27-30). Jannick Green came on at the end of the game and made sure that his team had a quieter final few minutes (55': 27-33). His teammates finish the job (57': 29-34) and Paris Saint-Germain Handball clinched another win! They are now level with Montpellier, who remain ahead in the rankings thanks to their one-goal victory in the first leg (31-30). The return leg will take place in April. 

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)