Bordeaux has been blowing hot and cold since the beginning of the season. They can chain 2 brilliant victories at the beginning of December by beating Briançon and Cergy with large reinforcements of 7 goals, then take 6 at Anglet leading the score, and at Chamonix at the second half, after a more than lackluster performance. Consequently, the welcome of Angers just before Christmas, as well as the trip to Mulhouse on December 26, or the arrival of Rouen 2 days later are part of the unpredictable matches. Meanwhile the Boxers must fight back at home against the Dukes while dealing with internal turmoil with a new coaching change recently.
Once not customary, Mériadeck is sold out this Friday evening before Santa Claus arrives, and what the people of Bordeaux hope when they come to watch the game is that this plump old man with a white beard will give them a nice early present.
Intensity and solidity on both sides
And while Olivier Dimet regularly criticizes his flock for conceding too many goals, it is clear that will not be the case on this balmy December evening. With the long injury of Clément Fouquerel, the Boxers have recruited for a while the Finnish giant Samu Perhonen, 1m96, and occupied a lot of space in the cages.
Like his counterpart Ewan Cowley, the Finn was solid throughout the evening, always well placed, and giving confidence to a local defense that needs it. The Angevins did not come to distribute the seasonal offers, and from there they intend to start again on points, especially given the current context, with the sudden departure of Mario Richer, thanked very little and replaced shortly by his assistant Alexis Biliardi, before the arrival of Jason O’Leary.
If the start of the match is rather to the advantage of the guests, more determined to exploit the opponent’s loss of control, Samu Perhonen plays the rescuers in the Bordeaux cages and delays the deadline. Gradually, the locals are sticking their heads out of the water and may even turn the tide through unconverted numerical superiorities, this time thanks to Ewan Cowley.
The second third will be of the same genre and each team has its possibilities, especially the Bordeaux players who do not benefit from a double superiority. Previously, Karri Forsblom, Loïk Poudrier, Niklas Salo or Maxime Legault all had opportunities to beat the Angevin goalkeeper, but the latter remains safe. On the other hand, Robin Gaborit, Kevin Dusseau twice, Zack Torquato or Tommy Giroux are also putting the great Perhonen to the test.
The third ends with the same score as the first act, and we tell ourselves that not much will be played if the level remains the same on both sides.
Boxers don’t break
Both teams have had their fair share of chances and often mistakes by one side lead to punishment by the other side. From the start of this third third, Angers launched an attack on Bordeaux’s goal. Tommy Giroux, Jonathan Charbonneau or Matthew Prapavessis, on a detour, collide with the Finnish giant.
Nothing, however, could against Gints Mejia from close range who opened the scoring in favor of the Dukes. Deserved advantage at the start, especially while Angers continues, by Nick Ross, then a new counterattack after a mistake by Matteo Mahieu in the blue. Bordeaux is fine and avoids losing touch with the Dukes.
Good for them, as moments later, Peter Valier handed a pass to Loïk Poudrier who equalised. You start shooting blow for blow, and with a presence in the offensive zone of Angers, the Boxers defend themselves ardently, like an Enzo Carry who rushes to counter a blow, and remains limping on the ice for a full minute, the time being able to regain the bench as play continues around him.
If the Bordeaux team sometimes lose the thread, and don’t always translate the message of solidarity and sacrifice that is conveyed onto the ice, it is clear that the atmosphere is very different for this match.
Kevin Dusseau tries again, followed shortly after by Philippe Halley. Burgundy replica by Marc André Levesque, Loïk Poudrier, Massimo Carozza or Alexandre Mulle.
Tommy Giroux then found a well-placed Samu Perhonen, just like Matthew Prapavessis then, or Nicolas Ritz on the counterattack 3 against 2. Chaos is felt on both sides, and it is Loïk Poudrier who alerts Cowley after Kevin Spinozzi plays cat-and-spot mouse with the Angevin pitchfork.
We are getting to the end of the game, and extension is therefore the next step towards solving this game. Both sides have already pocketed a point, which remains encouraging for the Bordeaux players looking for success, and not bad for the Angevins in their week’s turmoil.
Stories of penalty kicks
For Bordeaux it will therefore be a question of doubling the earnings of the evening, and for this reason they are working overtime with their heads held high. After a superb counter-attack between Peter Valier and Loïk Poudrier, a hook from Cédric Di Dio Balsamo was whistled and the goalscorer of the night then had the opportunity to score his second goal of the night to give his side victory from a penalty.
Unfortunately for him it’s up next and a good chance to win has passed. The end of the stretch gets carried away, you go from one goal to another. Jonathan Charbonneau or Gints Mejia can win the game, just like Bordeaux who have one last chance just before.
The decision will then be taken on penalties, and it won’t be easy for the shooters, given that the goalkeepers did well tonight.
Jonathan Charbonneau launches hostilities and scores after a contested movement but finally validated by the referees after a video review. Matteo Mahieu plunged deep but did not convert, unlike Philippe Halley who leapfrogged Samu Perhonen before heading under the crossbar.
Significant advantage for the Dukes in this session, especially when Kevin Spinozzi misses his attempt. Even Tommy Giroux, just like Nikita Jevpalovs who doesn’t put his i back in the running. He then tasks Maurin Bouvet to close the deal which he does brilliantly and then gives a second point to the Dukes who eventually win a tab session.
Bordeaux may regret failing to force the decision sooner, but they know how to settle for a hard-earned point. If in terms of accounts this doesn’t change Bordeaux’s average dynamic too much, it allows them to approach Christmas with the feeling of being able to compete with the big names in the championship, which they will soon have to confirm in Mulhouse and against Rouen.
Post-match interview with Olivier Dimet (Bordeaux manager) :
« We had one hell of a hockey game, however I am proud of my players who fought one hell of a battle against a very good team from Angers. Apart from the first 10 minutes in which we were in trouble due to the pressure from Angers, we managed to catch up and offered 50 minutes of the highest level with a lot of desire, effort and solidarity and this made for a great hockey game I think.
Positive point tonight, we saw Perhonen
We saw an excellent Perhonen, like the rest of the team who presented himself in the right way, now it’s still a disappointment, it’s another defeat on penalties, we can’t change despite our chances in extra time. The opposing goalkeeper played a great game, it was a duel between goalkeepers. I draw many positive things from this evening, I hope we will continue in this direction.
You said recently that we conceded too many goals, were there instructions to close even if that means playing less?
No, I think we played the same way, but the key is to be focused and focused for 60 minutes, especially against these kind of teams with the attacking talent they have. They make use of every space, so we had to be very focused but keep our identity. We applied high pressure which allowed us to recover the puck especially from the 10and minute. That’s how we are, now we were conceding too many goals due to individual mistakes, tonight we saw less and our goalkeeper did the job behind. It is a collective work on the whole of a game. At the slightest moment of distraction we pay in cash, I hope we notice it by force.
Can we expect to see games like this against lower level teams?
I hope we approach every game the same, in this league, we can see that there are no small teams, you have to work harder than the opponent, whatever the opponent is.
The choice to put Matteo Mahieu in 1and shooter, is it from him?
No, we’re working on TABs in training, and he’s been very successful, he doesn’t score tonight but we tried. He’s a young player, this is his ‘3and or 4and game, he has already played away Rouen and Angers, Angers tonight here, is giving us great performances for a player who has never played at this level. We have to keep working.
A big week ahead?
Tomorrow New Year’s Eve and training on the 25th. We are preparing Mulhouse which is in great dynamics, we know it will be a complicated match with a great goalkeeper up front, but if we present ourselves like this, we will have enough to compete ».
Bordeaux-Angers (0-0, 0-0, 1-1)
Friday 23 December at 8.15pm at the Mériadeck ice rink in front of 3,312 people.
Arbitration by Nicolas Crégut and Nicolas Barbez assisted by Johan Fauvel and Quentin Ugolini
Penalties: Bordeaux 2′ (2′, 0, 0), Angers 12 (4, 6, 2).
Pitches: Bordeaux 33 (12, 10, 8), Angers 33 (12, 6, 11).
Score evolution :
0-1 after 41’05: Gints Mejia assisted by Brendan Harms and Zack Torquato
1-1 after 45’09: Loïk Poudrier assisted by Peter Valier and Massimo Carozza (numeric superiority)
Shoot at net:
Bordeaux: Mattéo Mahieu (missed), Kévin Spinozzi (missed), Nikita Jevpalovs (missed)
Angers: Jonathan Charbonneau (success), Philippe Halley (success), Tommy Giroux (miss), Zachary Torquato (success)
Bordeaux
Forwards:
Alexandre Mulle – Peter Valier – Maxime Legault
Niklas Salo – Nikita Jevpalov – Louis Vitou
Enzo Carry – Loik Poudrier – Massimo Carozza
Aina Rambelo – Karri Forsblom – Esteban Ragot
Defenders:
Axel Prissaint-Bastien Lemaitre
Kevin Spinozzi – Jules Boschq
Matteo Mahieu-Marc André Levesque
Guardian:
Samu Perhonen
Substitute: Gaétan Richard (G). Absent: Clément Fouquerel, Hunter Warner, Fabien Colotti, Julien Guillaume
Anger
Forwards:
Gint Mejia – Zack Torquato – Brendan Harms
Philippe Halley-Tommy Giroux-Jonathan Charbonneau
Click Download to save Robin Gaborit – Cedric Di Dio Balsamo mp3 youtube com
Theo Sarlieve – Maurin Bouvet – Marius Serer
Defenders:
Nick Ross – Vincent Llorca
Kevin Dusseau-Matthew Prapavessis
Kylian Fauvel – Neil Manning
Guardian:
Ewan Cowley
Sub: Julian Barrier (L)
