Paris take the first leg in Plock

Comptes-rendus

Paris Saint-Germain got the better of Wisla Plock in the first leg of their EHF Champions League Round of 16 tie on Thursday. Here's a look back at the victorious trip to Poland.

A few weeks after securing third place in their EHF Champions League group, Paris Saint-Germain Handball were right down to business: the knockout rounds. In the play-off round, Les Rouge et Bleu faced Wisla Plock, who qualified at the last minute. The Polish side were hoping to disrupt Raul Gonzalez's plans in what promised to be a thrilling first leg in an electric Orlen Arena. Paris, for their part, were determined to take the lead and had a fit-again Nikola Karabatic to help them do so.

Spurred on by their home crowd, the Poles came close to breaking the deadlock early on, but Mathieu Grébille sounded the alarm for Les Rouge et Bleu (5': 2-1). Elohim Prandi then put the Parisians back on level terms with a powerful shot of his own (9': 3-3). The capital club went from strength to strength at the end of the first quarter, and went ahead on the scoreboard thanks to Kamil Syprzak's unscrupulous display against his parent club (14': 5-6).

Paris were also buoyed by Jannick Green, who made a double save to keep his side in front (19': 7-8). One after the other, Luc Steins and Kent Robin Tonnesen scored to give Les Rouge et Bleu their first break - a just reward for their domination (22': 8-10). After taking a time-out, Plock upped the tempo and managed to outwit the Parisian rearguard and close the gap (28': 11-11). Thanks to a final goal from David Balaguer, Paris went into the locker room with a narrow lead at the end of an all-business first half (30': 12-13).

The capital club started the second half with the same intentions and took advantage of an Elohim Prandi double to maintain their lead (34': 14-16). With Paris three points ahead - the biggest lead in the match thus far (37': 14-17) - Plock quickly decided to call a halt to the game. But the time-out did nothing to trouble either Jannick Green, who pulled off another fine save, or David Balaguer, who extended the lead with the ensuing attack (42': 15-19). With their backs against the wall, the Poles did not give up, however, and regained their rhythm heading into the final minutes (48': 20-23).

At the end of the match, Les Rouge et Bleu decided to attack with seven men to increase their lead. The result was immediate, with a first goal from Ruben Marchan, who had just come on as a substitute (54': 23-27). The Parisians stepped up a gear in the final minutes, with Jannick saving a penlaty and Kamil following up a splendid move by Elohim with his eighth goal in as many attempts (58': 28-29). At the end of a well-controlled game, Paris beat Wisla Plock in Poland, and took a serious option on qualification for the EHF Champions League quarter-finals (60': 26-30). Les Rouge et Bleu will have to be at their very best at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in the return leg next Thursday. A match not to be missed under any circumstances!

REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, ELOHIM PRANDI AND MATHIEU GRÉBILLE :

(Credits: L. Valroff/Team Pics/PSG)