On Sunday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball qualified for the Coupe de France semi-finals with a win over Dunkerque (32-21). Check out how the other quarter-finals went…
Aix - Chartres: 30-32
Aix will not take part in the final, which will be held in its arena. But for this quarter-final, the PAUC played in its old hall, the Val de l'Arc, as it had already done in the previous round against Nîmes. Once again for Aix, the game was decided on penalties (28-28 at the end of regulation time). Unfortunately for them, the match turned in Chartres' favour, following two saves from Nebojsa Grahovac and Kim Sonne-hansen in front of Vid Kavticnik and Noah Gaudin. A fitting result considering the match as a whole, and the fact that Chartres were in front for the vast majority of it.
Cette fois-ci ça ne passe pas pour nos aixois... Le PAUC est éliminé de la Coupe de France à l'issue de la séance de penaltys.
— PAUC HANDBALL (@pauchandball) March 7, 2020
PAUC 30 - 32 CHARTRES pic.twitter.com/Dl4kaE4XD9
Créteil - Montpellier: 31-32
There was also a penalty shoot-out in Créteil, even though Montpellier could have forced a decision much earlier. The Hérault outfit were seven points clear in the second half (35': 13-20) before their lead melted away like snow in the sun. After a fine comeback from the Cristolians, Yoann Gibelin equalised five seconds from time (60': 28-28). Finally, Montpellier's experience paid off as it was Diego Simonet who made the MHB's qualification bid official with a successful penalty throw.
Nantes - Ivry: 43-26
Meanwhile Nantes barely batted an eyelid as they played host to Ivry. The H took control from the start of the game (8': 7-1) and never let go again. Offensively, Nantes were on fire! With the exception of Nicolas Tournat, all the outfield players found the back of the net at least once. Special mention must go to Danish right-winger Sebastian Augustinussen, who scored from seven of his eight attempts. In the end, the home side won by a 17-goal margin and booked their place in the next round.
✋ Des coachs satisfaits de leur équipe. Bravo les gars !#HBCNUSI pic.twitter.com/EXtVdYRtJF
— HBCNantes (@HBCNantes) March 8, 2020
Chartres, Montpellier, Nantes and Paris are therefore the four teams qualified for the semi-finals, which will take place on the weekend of April 4.
(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)