Paris prevail in the north

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On Saturday evening, Paris Saint-Germain Handball returned to Lidl Starligue action after consecutive Velux EHF Champions League fixtures and claimed a deserved win over Dunkerque in their Round 9 clash in the north of France.

Les Rouge et Bleu didn't need any time to feel out their opponents on Saturday night, getting straight down to business with Thierry Omeyer winning most of his early duels with the northern club's forwards (5’: 1-4). However, despite their good start, Paris's domination didn't bear fruit immediately. Indeed, Titi's opposite number, Oleg Grams, also had a great game (15’: 6-7), and it wan't until the second half of the opening term that pur side broke free - thanks to the clinical finishing of Henrik Toft Hansen. Just like his compatriot Mikkel Hansen (20’: 6-10), our pivot scored with every attempt and helped Paris to break clear (28’: 8-12) and maintain a four-goal lead going into the break (9-13).

When the sides returned to action, Henrik and Titi picked up where they had left off in the first half, the former pushing his side further ahead (31’: 9-14) while the latter was busy saving a penalty (34’: 10-14)! This all-court excellent worked to inspire Benoît Kounkoud who, in the space of two moves fired off a quick-fire double, including a sublime chabala (38’: 12-16)! Raul Gonzalez's men had the upper hand and controlled the match well, but Dunkerque stayed in touch (45’ : 16-19). Until the final minutes, that is, when PAris' experience proved telling. Despite his tender years, Nedim has a wealth of experience to draw on and showed his tenacity as his powerful shot crashed in off the underside of the cross-bar (48’: 17-22). The capital club managed the final stages of the match perfectly, taking their lead out to six points when Sander Sagosen struck with a powerful shot (53’: 18-24). In the end, the Les Rouge et Bleu won by a four-goal margin (23-27).

Never in any real danger, Paris Saint-Germain Handball got the job done against a valiant Dunkerque side. The result took Paris Saint-Germain Handball to within two points of leaders Chambéry, still with a match in hand.

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)