Michael Guigou (Nimes)
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A strong duel was on the program for the 12th day with the trip from Saint-Raphaël to Nîmes and this poster did not disappoint. After 60 minutes of engagement and suspense, USAM finally won on the wire during a boiling end of the match (30-29).
It is a team from Nîmes exhausted by its start to the season that received Saint-Raphaël at the end of the afternoon. The stake of the meeting was clear for the men of Franck Maurice : do not leave points against a direct competitor in European markets. For this perilous mission, there was a lack of vital forces l Usami, mainly on the right side, with the absences of Year, Tesio and Kavticnik. It is therefore Damien Gibernon, 20 years old, who found himself in the wing.
SAINT-RAPHAËL COMES TO PLAY A BAD TRACK
Despite the return in the goals of Remi Desbonnet, after his ankle injury, l Usami starts the match sluggishly by conceding a 2-0 by Fahrudin Melic. The Nîmes run after the score during the first quarter of an hour, in front of enterprising visitors like Gayduchenko or Caucheteux. However, the locals do not panic, in the wake of the excellent Michael guigou and young Gibernon who scored, without trembling, his first goals in the elite. This is Luc to you, another great man of the evening on the Nîmes side who gives the advantage for the first time to l Usami at the 15th minute (8-7). Remi Desbonnet then chain a few stops (7 au total on half-time) and Nîmes dig a little gap with Hesham (12-9, 21e). The defense of Nîmes is solid around the unalterable Quentin Dupuy but the Greens fail to really stand out. A man’s fault. Alexandre demaille is indeed stratospheric in its purposes with 11 stops at 52% success in the first half! Thanks to him, Saint-Raphaël gathers quietly and leads even at half time (14-15).
NÎMES GETS AFRAID
O’Brian Nyateu (USAM Nimes Gard)
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After the locker room, the Nîmes resumed their march forward thanks to a 4-0 (including 3 goals from the only Guigou) registered in 4 minutes. Nîmes seems to be heading towards a serene victory because Teodor Paul made a good entry (6 stops at 32%) and O’Brian Nyateu regains legs in attack. But the Gardois cannot really distance the Raphaelois, the gap does not exceed between the two teams not exceeding 4 goals (26-22 in the 50th minute). Opposite, the men of Fortuneanu do not surrender, like the joker Drevy Paschal insolent efficiency on the left wing (4/5). The Varois then use the 7-player game quite effectively but do not seem to be able to turn the tide, especially when Rebichon trap Dipanda to score in the empty goal (30-27 in the 58th minute).
The last three minutes are poorly managed by the Nîmes who start stammering their handball. Dipanda then Sarmiento thus bring the SRVHB at 30-29 with 25 seconds remaining. During the last attack, while l Usami seems badly embarked with the raised arm of the referees, the trickster Galician causes the more than severe exclusion of his former teammate Dipanda, very unfortunate at the end of the match. The match is won for Nîmes.
Nîmes is therefore necessary 30-29 and distance it SRVHB in the standings with 4 points ahead and as many matches played. It was the last game of 2020 for USAM, the men in green will now be able to rest and heal their injuries, to come back stronger in 2021. Saint-Raphaël will, however, have two games against Toulouse then to Istres to try to forget this evening.
Tristan Paloc
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