Handball. After two heavy defeats, Caen “is not very far ahead”
By Aline Chatel
Published on
28-35 against Angers (N1 Elite), 35-26 at Saran (Proligue): Caen Handball suffered two heavy setbacks in the space of 24 hours, on August 19 and 20, 2022. The Vikings, who did not win only one match – quite difficultly – against Lanester (24-20) during the preparation, are not at the level proposed with two and a half weeks before their first official match in the Coupe de France.
Roch, are you worried after two heavy defeats in a row?
We are not very far ahead. We lost a little time on the handball plan. We have three warm-up matches and a little over 15 days of work to improve our defensive and offensive game. There have been a lot of changes in this team, which requires a lot of adaptations. We had bet on a big physical preparation which brought us to be a little more tired than usual. But there is also something on the handball level that takes time to set up. I thought we were going to be able to get on it faster. We will very quickly prioritize what we will have to perform very well in order to attack the championship with all the weapons of confidence.
We imagine that these defeats hurt in terms of confidence…
It’s a bit complicated but you have to put it into perspective. Without bathing in the Coué method, it is still the preparation. Nevertheless, we will have a fairly complex start to the championship with Saran and Nancy, two candidates for a return to the elite. There will also be two games that we have targeted against teams in our category, Besançon and Frontignan. We have a lot of work to do to be ready.
What’s going on defensively?
We need to make the defensive cogs much more automatic. Today, we alternate very good passages and much more mediocre passages. On a whole to rebuild. On the defensive hinge, only Nabil (Slassi) remains, since Romain (Guillard) has stopped. Next, there are new players. It’s taking a little longer than we thought. On the defensive act, and even offensive, we need to find the right timings, to create the right relationships. Today, on a whole to be built. We had progressed pretty well the first three weeks [de préparation]there is a little backtracking on the fourth.
You conceded 70 goals in two games.
On one took a lot of goals on the big space. Against Angers, it was a bad match in terms of involvement and state of mind. We put our heads down fairly quickly as soon as we got shaken. We were able to rectify it against Saran but it became complicated after a period of slack. It shouldn’t be overlooked either that we don’t have our top scorer, Yannis Mancelle, who has been absent since the start of preparation due to a broken index finger. Émilien Deschamps is also on the side for painful adductors. It doesn’t help stabilize some things. The results of the fifth week will be very important.
Will the mental aspect be important to complete the preparation?
Obviously we need to be reassured. Players need to be reassured about what is in place and about their capabilities. They are young players, their sassy side has to take over. I found them very timid, very diligent, very scholarly. It lacks the little bit of madness that normally characterizes youth.
Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow Sport in Caen in the My News space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.