EL (M) – J4 | Toulouse too messy against Plock
A week after its success at Irun, Fénix Toulouse had no other choice but to bow logically at home for its second confrontation against Plock (24-30).
For this 4th day, Fénix Toulouse once again welcomes one of its toughest European opponents this season: the Poles of Wisla Plock. This meeting is also the last of a busy start to the season, after three trips to the group’s biggest opponents, and everything will be very beneficial in view of the qualification for Danijel Andjelkovic’s men.
In front of its audience, Toulouse holds the comparison
The start of the match was rather defensive, and it was the French who opened the scoring in the third minute with a counter-attack from Erwin Feutchmann. But the Poles are quick to respond, and take a first advantage thanks to a very valuable Abel Serdio in pivot (5-6, 12 ′). This advantage, the Whites and Blues will maintain it against Toulouse experienced black in their European evening. Whenever the Toulouse public believes in a return of their team, two to three lengths behind, Dmitry Zhitnikov or Lovro Mihic recreate the gap in no time (10-13, 26 ′). But like a miracle, the Occitans will manage to make the comeback in the last moments. Despite Xavi Sabaté’s time-out, the visitors stumbled upon a precious Jeff Lettens and suffered a 3-0. One last but of an excellent Nemanja Ilic, author of 7 goals so far, puts the two formations back to back at the break (13-13, 30 ′).
A Toulouse attack too rough
Erik Balanciaga reopens the scoring and his partners seem to be coming back from the locker room. Unfortunately, this impression is short lived. If the Toulousains hold out for a while, the attack will quickly stop, and the numerous losses of bullets begin to cost dear. And if we add to this a few saves from Adam Morawski, exclusions and goals conceded in the empty cage during unsuccessful attempts to play at 7, we see the French cash a cruel 6-0 which bends the meeting (19- 19, 40 ′; 19-25, 47 ′). The Poles can fly away in a quiet end to the game, and continue to follow Berlin behind for first place in Pool A (24-30, 60 ′).
Toulouse can come out of this meeting with regret, not having shown its best handball. Still deprived of their left-handed rear, the men of Polish Danijel Andjelkovic were too approximate tonight to hope for a result against the armadae. The Fénix will start a new part of its championship next week against more affordable opponents and direct competitors for qualification. And this new page will begin to be written at home, with the reception of Slovaks from Presov next Tuesday.
G. Vieira: “It will be hard against the first as against the last“
Gonçalo Vieira: “After a match like that, we could find excuses, tell ourselves that we played two days ago, that we played a lot … but above all we made a lot of mistakes. Certainly Plock can be a team with more big templates on our weapons to win. But we lost a lot of balls, may lack a bit of concentration… and it’s complicated to win in these conditions in this competition. Now we don’t want to watch the upcoming matches as if they were less difficult. We are going to need points and we know this championship, we know that it will be hard against the first as against the last. So we stay focused until the end and we will try to do good results before the holidays.“
Jeff Lettens: “I am disgusted because this game on the loses on their own. I do not want to make my rant but I am frustrated, because we are competitors, and there are ways to lose but here we have the feeling of having been on the ground and of having suffered, it is that is the feeling that reigns. When we have to manage balls to get past we throw them while looking for the pivot, we take I don’t know how many goals in the empty cage, assists that are not 100%, … So yes we can say that ‘ they are very strong in the duels, but you also have to look at what we threw in attack, because I think that the glare is done there. We insist, we repeat the same mistakes while they lose less balls than us, and logically we lose the match. I am frustrated because we have been fighting all season for Europe and in 5 minutes we spoil a game against Plock, whereas I think we were able to hold out longer. In the championship, we say the same, we were at -7 at the break in Cesson, we have to manage better against Limoges, and we always tell ourselves what to do but now we must also act. In Saran, we must not miss our start to the match, and we will receive Montpellier which is not very well at the moment, and we must not tell ourselves that we cannot win because it is Montpellier. And in the European League, it would be too easy to say that it is against Presov or Winterthur that it will be played out, because we will also have more pressure against them than against Plock.“
In Toulouse, Antoine Piollat