Historic Qualification of HGD in Coupe de France Final: Valenciennes vs. Dunkirk 1-7

The euphoria born from the historic qualification of the HGD in the final of the Coupe de France was barely tempered by Strasbourg who came as opportunists to consolidate their leadership position. The enthusiasm is such in the corsair city that the precious and rare tickets for the Parisian trip on January 21 were quickly snapped up this Friday morning. It is confirmed in the bays of neighboring Valenciennes, forced to welcome the Corsairs with sold-out windows.

The two representatives of the border department of Belgium experienced varying fortunes during the first part of the championship, even if the Hennuyers were able to turn their heads around since the first leg lost on the shores of the North Sea, gleaning valuable points against direct competitors. The task promises to be difficult for the teammates of Mathis Petit, who will still be called upon to replace Michael Stiliadis who is convalescing. Especially since a breakthrough from Vit Budínský was stopped in the middle by the shoulder of Victor Breton and five minutes of numerical superiority were announced from the second minute. The aggressiveness of the local square confines the attackers to the periphery, and it is only at the very end of the sentence that Budínský forces Petit, masked, to work. The Czech, in pivot, does it again on the return with equal strength towards the glove of the young goalkeeper. The third attempt is the right one for number 81 of the Corsairs, the fastest to recover a rebound on a faceoff (0-1 at 08’40″).

In the next minute Pierre Vervoort hooks Amaury Lhermitte and the danger is reversed. Adrien Vazzaz saves in front of Maxime Mathieu, found by Yarovinsky, then Thomas Cornu, mounted to try to take advantage of a rare mistake from the Maritimes, a puck that Martin Poirier cannot clear very far. The numerically tied game, however, turns to the advantage of Jonathan Lafrance’s men; Clément Thomas finds the top corner (0-2 at 12’05″) and the goal post, then a defensive oversight is exploited by Parker Colley whose cross from the left is converted by Corentin Cruchandeau (0-3 at 13’40 ″). Joseph Broutin also stopped illegally, the bill becomes steeper after returning from the locker room: Winkelmann lifts the puck nonchalantly to the right and leaves it to Antoine Torres, for a precise high shot (0-4 at 18’21″) . On the rare opportunities for the Red Devils, Thomas Mathieu takes the time to throw without hitting target, and Altybarmakyan is blocked as soon as he enters the zone.

The scenario does not change at the restart, it even takes a sacrifice from Per Lidstrom in front of the cage to replace his goalkeeper in front of Colley. Mathis Petit then dives in front of Cruchandeau and then sees Vit Budínský, launched by a long, precise pass from Joseph Broutin, challenge him. Hooked, the Czech transforms the subsequent penalty shot, laying down the last rampart to better slide the puck into the back of the cage (0-5 at 28’15″). As Yarovinsky stumbles along unopposed, the Red Devils’ affairs are at an all-time low. Amiens hopefuls Antoine Salomez and Louis Bailleul are gaining ice time at a time when the Valenciennes are gaining momentum. Dunkirk punished for delay of game, Adrien Vazzaz confirms his excellent performances, not falling into Côté’s trap, looking for a mouse hole on a pass from behind the cage, and resisting Ilya Altybarmakyan, past in force on the right. Two powerful throws from Nepveu de Villemarceau still occupy him, for a fate identical to that of the high shot from Félix Plouffe. As for Ricards Birzins, omnipresent triggerman on the power play, he can only note the brilliance of his former partner, stingy in rebounding following a raid by Altybarmakyan, also hardly successful. The former Briançonnais even allows himself a helmet parade against Amaury Lhermitte, livening up a little more the end of the meeting with the appearance of a lone rider, to the cheers of the still enthusiastic Flandrian supporters.

The only downside was that the whitewash escaped him, the fault of an action by Fyodor Yarovinsky, whose serve for Maxime Mathieu hit the mark less than four minutes from time (1-7 at 59’22″). In the meantime, Martin Poirier from the blue (0-6 at 41’45″) and Christopher Klack, taking advantage of a line change to come and adjust Mathis Petit (0-7 at 52’52″), had a little more concretized the superiority of Dunkirk authors of a new offensive festival away, after that inflicted on the Bisons of Neuilly.

Named best players of the match: Clément Thomas for Dunkerque and Swann Nepveu de Villemarceau for Valenciennes

Post-match comments
Romain Sadoine (Valenciennes coach): “The start was very bad, we played with fear and they were successful, unlike us, even if the team managed to react. The game was balanced even if Dunkirk slowed down the pace. We cannot manage to have four constant blocks, there are always one or two that are inside. The squad is short and we haven’t had the opportunity to play in full yet. I hope this will be possible in January, to re-motivate everyone. A week of truce is coming, to mentally allow you to come back stronger. Our opponents have been paying attention to the two Russians for 5-6 games, and they were in difficulty this evening while the second block reacted well. »

Jonathan Lafrance (Dunkirk coach): “It’s not really revenge for the Strasbourg match, but it was about starting the return phase well by ending the year well. We knew that Valenciennes could play good hockey recently, we had to be ready from the start and vigilant. With a four-goal lead we started to get out of the game plan and we gave up a few chances. We insist on not talking about the Coupe de France and the work is done to focus on the championship week after week. »

Valenciennes – Dunkirk 1-7 (0-4, 0-1, 1-2).
Saturday December 30, 2023 at 6:40 p.m. at the Valigloö ice rink. 1,350 spectators
Arbitration by Samuel Fessier assisted by Nicolas Messier and Alban Delsarte.
Penalties: Valenciennes 11′ (2’+5’, 4’, 0’), Dunkerque 8′ (2’, 4’, 2’).
Shots: Valenciennes 22 (4, 7, 11), Dunkirk 42 (19, 11, 12).
Evolution of the score:
0-1 at 08’40″: Budínský assisted by C. Thomas and Broutin
0-2 at 12’05″: C. Thomas assisted by Broutin
0-3 at 13’40″: Cruchandeau assisted by Colley and Klack
0-4 at 18’21″: Torres assisted by Winkelmann and Vazzaz
0-5 at 28’15″: Budínský (penalty shot)
0-6 at 41’45″: Poirier assisted by Broutin and C. Thomas
0-7 at 52’52″: Klack assisted Stonnell and Colley
1-7 at 59’22″: M. Mathieu assisted by Plouffe and Côté

Valenciennes
Attackers:
Jérémy Côté – Félix Plouffe (A) – Maxime Mathieu (C)
Thomas Mathieu – Ilya Altybarmakyan – Fyodor Yarovinsky
Pierre Trouvé – Amaury Lhermitte (A) – Victor Breton
Louis Bailleul, Antoine Salomez

Defenders:
Lucas Morel – Per Lidstrom
Thomas Cornu – Ricards Birzins
Roderick Saez – Audric Donnet
Swann Nepveu de Villemarceau

Guardian :
Mathis Petit

Substitute: Michael Stiliadis (G).
Absent: David Fritz-Dreyssé, Quentin Durand (clavicle), Louis Mundubeltz, Sacha Marguet

Dunkirk

Attackers:
Christopher Klack – Parker Colley – Corentin Cruchandeau
Joseph Winkelmann – Antoine Torres – Timon Davranche
Clément Thomas (C) – Joseph Broutin – Vít Budínský (C)

Defenders:
Martin Poirier – Bradley Stonnell
Mathias Thomas – Adam Young (A)
Lubomir Dinda – Pierre Vervoort

Goalkeeper: Adrien Vazzaz

Substitutes: Léo Bertein (G), Romain Carpentier (A), Yssah Mensah, Mathéo Durie.

2024-01-01 21:13:10
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