LBE
Friday, February 17, 2023 – © Laurent Hoppe
Before signing in the Var, the right-back had experienced two climbs and a descent at Saint-Amand-les-Eaux. While the TMV, in chronic difficulty this season, finds itself tied on points with the relegated Mérignac, it does not resolve to a new swing at the end of the championship. And will want to put words into action on Saturday, against Celles-sur-Belle.
In the Pugliese family, the younger brother is the best placed in the race for maintenance. Arrived last summer from the Nîmes training center, Quentin (21) plays center half in Sarrebourg, the eleventh Moselle club in Proligue, a good distance from the red zone. Her older sister, on the other hand, no longer has any leeway. Without doing anything, Chloe’s Toulon became relegated overnight. The consequence of the four penalty points (out of nine) returned on appeal to Mérignac, with which the Girondines come back up to the Varoises at the bottom of the classification (19 units), and double them in the particular goal average (28-18 for the MHB , January 18).
One more episode in such a trying season for the former French champion… Stéphane Plantin’s squad (not renewed at the end of the year) was taken out of the start by a D2 club (Achenheim) in the Coupe de France, won only once out of thirteen in LBE, against Saint-Amand-les-Eaux. A direct competitor which happens to be the former home of Chloé Pugliese. The 24-year-old right-back (on the left in our photo, in discussion with Mie Sando) played there from 2019 to 2022, never in the same division: D2 the first and third year, D1 the second. Whether for accession or against relegation, the Toulousaine who woke up to the sticky ball in less than 9 years in Pechbonnieu, north of the pink city, thanks to a father amateur player, knows about battles . Hence his intimate conviction of being able to leave one, or even two formations behind his own at the end of May. And to stay on the same upper floor for the second season of his Mediterranean contract.
Chloe, in the posture your current team, what will the Toulon salute go through ?
“In any case, we must continue to work. Work even more, as a team, individually too, and above all don’t let go of anything in your head. Everything is still possible. We must arrive at each match even more with a knife between our teeth. If you put the ingredients, the work will necessarily pay off, and I believe in this motto. »
Did the heavy defeat at Saint-Amand-les-Eaux (34-22, ten days ago) take a toll on morale?
“It was a match that we had checked. Inevitably, this counter-performance hurt the skull… But we must not stay focused on it. Anyway, in top-level sport, you don’t have time to look back. We have to bounce back quickly, move forward, progress as quickly as possible and rectify our mistakes. »
Did you also tick the reception of Celles-sur-Belle (9th, 22 pts), this Saturday?
“Yes, we can check it. We will have a spirit of revenge because in the first leg, the scenario was not at all what we expected (defeat 28-19, September 7). Anyway, now all matches will be played to win. Starting with Saturday. »
Did you imagine that the first season of your first professional contract would go like this?
“I expected it to be easier. When I saw the squad, the names of the team, I was sure that we would manage to get more victories. That’s how it is, you have to adapt. Now, I’m still in D1, I still have the weapons to try to stay there. It is a chance that some do not have. You have to go all out to have no regrets at the end of the season. »
So far, has Toulon paid for his inconstancy above all? Before the poor performance in Amandine, against a direct opponent, you had managed to hang Nice (30-30, January 25)…
“Against Nice, we showed our strength of character. We were -6 at 20 minutes from the end (19-25), and we were able to come back. We must manage to show it more often, over an hour of play, and in all matches. There is a regularity to look for in these moments of combativeness that we were able to put in place at the end of the match against Nice. »
“Giving your life on the pitch”
Beyond finding yourself in a relegation position, what does the reduction in the penalty imposed on Mérignac ?
“We had a victory ahead of them, this is no longer the case. It’s necessarily more delicate, but we still have our destiny in our hands. For having experienced the descent with Saint-Amand two years ago, this is not always the case. Now we have the same number of points (as Mérignac), we are on the same line. The team with the most wins will stand. The race is on. »
This 2020-2021 Almond experience, resulting in a return to D2 after play-down, does it help you better understand today’s events?
“I have the advantage of having already done a season with this pressure that we have when we play the maintenance. I hope I can handle it better this time around. I know what it’s like to give your life on a pitch to stay in the League. It is an experience that I hope to use to reverse the trend. »
You mentioned above the “weapons” at your disposal to succeed in this mission. What are they ?
“The objective is to be at the service of the collective. I bring him everything I can. My greatest strength is the mind. I try to pass on this desire to give her life on the pitch to the teammate. Afterwards, I think I will start to be important for the defensive team. In attack, currently, shooting from a distance is my best weapon. »
Have your shots at 9 meters improved, have they evolved from north to south?
“Changing clubs, changing coaches, changing goalkeepers to shoot in training, it allows you to shoot differently, to work on certain wrist shots. Inevitably, it makes progress. I also progressed physically: with the physical trainer, we worked a lot to be able to bring power to my shot, starting from the legs. And this is my second year at the best French level
, I adapt to it. It’s by trying on the field, feeling the level of play and the rhythm, that I can progress and adjust my shots from a distance. »
Toulon – Celles-sur-Belle (15th day of LBE), Saturday February 18 at 6:30 p.m.
if Chloé Pugliese played a first full LBE season with Saint-Amand, she had already made a few appearances in the top flight in 2017-2018, in the Chambray jersey.
