Paris book Final4 berth

News

The context:
On Thursday evening, Paris Saint-Germain Handball put their Coupe de la Ligue trophy back on the line after claiming gold in the last three editions of the competition. The task: trump nearest Lidl StarLigue rivals Montpellier. The winner had the opportunity to book a place in the Final4 (which will be held at the Antarès arena in Le Mans on 14 and 15 March 2020), where Chambéry, Nantes and Toulouse had already secured their tickets 24 hours earlier. It should be noted that in this competition, the two teams had met twice before, each time in the final (one victory each).

The match:
For several long minutes, the match was very close (3': 2-2). While it was the capital club leading the way, thanks to a fine strike from Kim Ekdahl du Rietz (9': 6-4), they were unable break free (12': 7-7). After a quick time out from Raul Gonzalez, the Parisian machine clicked into gear and then hit steamroller mode. Defensively, well backed up by Vincent Gérard, our team offered Montpellier's forwards very few solutions, while our attack proved clinical (21': 12-10). Then, in the last ten minutes of the first half, Les Rouge et Bleu accelerated once again! Under the guidance of the excellent Nikola Karabatic, they widened the gap in the space of a few moments (27': 17-12) and then hit the dressing rooms seven steps ahead (30': 19-12).

The second half started the same way as the first: with the teams duking it out (38': 23-18) until our Spanish coach used the same technique in a bid to get his men back into the game. It worked once more and the Parisians went back to managing a comfortable lead (41': 25-18). The last quarter of an hour was perfectly handled, our team relying on Vincent's saves (45': 26-20) and Niko's goals (repositioned as a pivot, the same Viran Morros) to stay in front (50': 30-22). Despite a spirited Montpellier fight-back in the final moments (58': 33-29), Paris resisted until the final buzzer punched their ticket for the Coupe de le Ligue's Final4 (34-30).

The Parisian of the match: Kamil Syprzak
The task was not easy faced with a very aggressive Montpellier defence. However, Kamil Syprzak managed to make his way through the gaps and get the better of their keeper on several occasions. Our Polish pivot finished the game with a match-high nine goals from 11 attempts, on top of his having drawn a plethora of penalties!

The word: Five
Thanks to this victory, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will be taking part in their fifth consecutive Coupe de la Ligue Final4 when March comes around! As a reminder, Paris are three-time reigning champions of the competition, having beaten Nantes (31-27), Toulouse (40-30) and then, last season, Montpellier (31-25), last season. Raul Gonzalez's men will therefore be looking to win for a fourth-straight time - which would also be the fourth in the club's history).

Coming up:
Another cup match awaits Les Rouge et Bleu! Indeed, on Sunday afternoon, they will travel to Pontault-Combault (Proligue) for their Round of 32 Coupe de France fixture.

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)