We needed an important, major victory to reassure ourselves and stay in contact with the leading car. Gilles Derot’s men accomplished their mission seriously this Friday at the Halle Polyvalente by offering a serious encounter against Cherbourg who came with only 13 names on the match sheet (30-27). A lack of rotation which Istres PHB took advantage of to make the difference, notably at the end of the first period to achieve a decisive burst on a goal from Thomas Tésorière. The veteran of low defensive works thus allowed himself the luxury of scoring his first goal in the colors of Provence.
The Istrian wake-up call rang in the 12th minute with an ounce of success and notably “an own goal” from Nicolas Gauthier, betrayed by his post (5-4) on a save. The match then turned into an attacking match. And the Provençaux know how to do this with an average of 34 goals scored per match since the start of the season. Penguins and Provençaux go blow for blow, the Cherbourger David Estepa has admired his ability to perforate defenses like Toke Schröder in the Istrian ranks. But the small rotation was starting to weigh on the legs. Then came the first turning point of the match: in numerical superiority, Edu Fernandez’s men made life complicated with, in order, a strong pass, a diverted 7m throw and a new save from an excellent Ledo to prevent Cherbourg to equalize (12-11, 24).
Edgar Dentz’s attack
A golden opportunity seized by Istres to widen a first gap (16-13). An effort that Tesorière and his team continued at the start of the second half to give themselves a five-goal lead (21-17, 40th, 23-18, 42nd). The exclusions are starting to rain down just to complicate the situation a little more and allow the best Istrian scorer, Edgar Dentz, to score in the empty goal or to find pivotal solutions.
Bono and his gang showed consistency in the fight to resist the former resident of Starligue but with the injury of Estepa Ruiz on a shot deflected by an excellent Ledo, there was no longer any question of throwing themselves headlong soul in battle. Continue to fight yes, to keep the bench running, OK. Enough to allow the Istreans to manage their end of the match to offer themselves a deserved victory with less than 27 goals conceded. Good signals for the Provençal team before heading to Frontignan next week.
#Proligue #Istres #confirms #Cherbourg
