Toulouse. Jef Lettens: “I want to say congratulations to the guys”
The Toulouse goalkeeper, still very valuable during the success against Istres (30-25), yesterday at home, is delighted with the state of mind displayed by his team, undefeated for nine matches in the league.
They still had in a corner of their heads the defeat against Nancy (22-24) and the draws conceded against Limoges (27-27) or Créteil (28-28), three teams which are fighting today for their maintenance but which are all the halls take points at the Sports Palace. “It was the real trap match but I want to say congratulations to the guys: even if everything was not perfect, the investment was great”, appreciates Jef Lettens.
Faced with Istreans who have also been squatting at the bottom of the rankings since the start of the season, and who have the particularity of being more comfortable on the move than at home, the Fenix took thirty minutes to take the measure of his opponent. “Jef kept us in the game when we were stammering our game a bit,” sums up center half Maxime Gilbert. At the break, the two teams were neck and neck and the Belgian international’s ten saves (17 in total) effectively set the stage for a thunderous start to the second half.
“Keep riding this wave”
The transition to 1-5 in defense then completely anesthetized the Istriens who conceded a scathing 7-1 during the first eight minutes of the second act. “It’s a defensive system that requires great intensity and a lot of self-sacrifice and we were able to respond,” Gilbert also rejoices. “I did not expect this tactical change because the 0-6 was going pretty well, our investment was such that we recovered a lot of balls which then allowed us to make the difference”, welcomes his part. the Belgian goalkeeper.
The second half was just a long calm river and given the sad memories mentioned above, it’s a luxury that Lettens appreciates, who “wants to keep this state of mind to continue to ride this wave “.
“It’s a good group, which is moving forward, and where everyone stays in their role. We have to remain humble and take advantage of it to chart our course”, adds the latter. The rest of the program, precisely, promises to be particularly busy with eight matches in four weeks including a highly anticipated duel next Friday in Chambéry, a team which is one point ahead of Fenix Toulouse in fourth place in the championship. Tantalizing…