Held to a draw but still unbeaten

Comptes-rendus

Paris Saint-Germain Handball overcame a seven-goal deficit at half-time to hold Toulouse to a draw (29-29). Here's a look back at this Liqui Moly StarLigue Round 19 clash.

A week after their crucial win over Monptellier (26-31) at the Sud de France Arena, Raul Gonzalez's men were back in front of their home fans at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. The opponents had changed, but the objective remained the same for the capital club in Liqui Moly StarLigue Round 19: to continue their perfect winning record on the national stage. To do that, they had to get the better of a valiant Toulouse side, who were fourth in the table.

The game got off to a tight start, with neither side able to break away (4': 2-2). Le Fenix took advantage of every mistake made by the Parisian rearguard, and were the first to break the deadlock (8': 3-5). Les Rouge et Bleu were still in touch with their counterparts, but Toulouse were still in the lead at the quarter-hour mark (15': 6-8).

Raul Gonzalez decided to call a time-out (18'h minute: 7-9) to get his men back into the game. However, Toulouse had come to Coubertin looking to give their all and managed to extend their lead (23': 8-13). Paris redoubled their efforts to close the gap, but came up against an imperious Jef Lettens, who made his sixth save of the match (26': 10-16). After a tricky first half, the capital club went into the break seven points behind (30': 12-19).

Paris came back from the break with much better intentions. Andreas was on hand to save, while Ferran allowed his side to make up some of the deficit, forcing Le Fenix to stop play (34': 15-19). Toulouse managed to regain their first-half rhythm, however, and again pulled clear (39': 18-23). But Raul Gonzalez's men did not give up, and the Parisians were back in it as we entered the final quarter (47': 22-25).

Les Rouge et Bleu seemed unstoppable at the end of the match, and were just one point behind going into what was sure to be an unbearable final stretch (53': 26-27). Elohim Prandi capped a splendid team move to bring the scores level in a frenzied Stade Pierre de Coubertin (58': 29-29) - and that's how Paris and Toulouse parted company at the end of a thrilling encounter (60': 29-29). Trailing by seven goals at the break, Raul Gonzalez's men produced a second-half performance of the highest order to come away with a draw and maintain their unbeaten run in the league.

REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, MATHIEU GRÉBILLE AND WALLEM PELEKA :

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