The French goalkeeper, author of a mind-blowing first act, Kentin Mahé, brilliant maestro, but a failed end to the match for the Blues too… Find the tops and flops of the French success against Serbia this Monday (29-25).
TOPS
Euro handball: winners against Croatia, the Blues are perfectly launched”>Vincent Gérard, the wall of the first period
What the French goalkeeper achieved in the first 30 minutes on Monday was simply extraordinary. Faced with Serbs who did not lack powerful and / or precise shooters, the last rampart of Paris SG was quick to repel his first shot, before making a huge double parade in the first ten minutes. Solid, but not amazing. What was much more was his series of 7 consecutive saves which left the Serbs almost 12 minutes without scoring. In total, Vincent Gérard completed his demonstration with 10 saves at 65% during a first act that he had illuminated with all his talent.
A magnificent first act collectively
If Gérard hurt Serbia very badly by multiplying the parades, his performance should not make us lose sight of the quality of the French game in attack, with many shifts, sharp ball climbs, fluidity and ease also in the transmissions symbolized by a first loss of ball occurring at the… 24e minute of play. With the baton, Kentin Mahé achieved by far his best match of the Euro with 6 goals (out of 8 attempts) and 3 assists (for no lost ball). The space of 30 minutes, the Blues have corrected their main weakness of the first two matches. And then what an awesome kung-fu between Hugo Descat and Yanis Lenne at the 24e minute of play. Unfortunately, the second act was less convincing.
FLOPS
Last five minutes to forget
Admittedly, for the moment, this failed end to the match remains anecdotal in comparison to their three very good victories. Nevertheless, the 7-1 conceded in the last five minutes will remain like a small pebble in the shoes of coach Guillaume Gille, who may regret the difficult new outing of Melvyn Richardson, whose good performance against Ukraine only compensates for his two mediocre matches. against Croatia and Serbia. Same observation for Dylan Nahi whose 1 out of 3 in shooting is disappointing for this scoring machine on the wing normally.
Serbia without backs
Holder of the right and left rear positions, the Uros Borzas-Milos Orbovic tandem had a nightmarish evening at the Pick Arena. However, Borzas, with an exceptional shot in support in the top corner, had started his match well. Except that behind, Gérard closed the door in the face of the Toulouse player who, at 21, legitimately lacks experience. From the height of his 28 years, Orbovic, he has more, but that did not prevent him from finishing the meeting with a fanny (0 out of 4). For a 1 in 9 in total for the two men, the main gravediggers of their team. And in total, Serbia ends the meeting with a very meager 2 from 13 at nine meters.
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