Montpellier Handball Faces HBC Nantes in the Coupe de France Final at Accor Arena in Bercy

50e : on a kung fu between Descat and Lenne, the zone is whistled, Montpellier remains at two units.

49e: Holst, from a distance, grabs the Nantes skylight, Montpellier still comes back to 2 lengths (28-30).

48e : Ovnicek in support deceives Bolzinger and involuntarily hits the head of Arthur Lenne who remains stunned (27-30).

47e: while Montpellier comes back to score, Canayer takes his second time out to give his last instructions in attack.

46th: Pellas finds a good angle on his left wing and Bolzinger makes a save in stride (27-29).

44e : Rivera with a chabala on a throw of 7m, once again deceives Bolzinger (25-29).

42e: on his wing, Portela puts the ball next to Bolzinger’s head and Nantes regains a 3-goal lead (25-28).

41st: Monar, in pivot, allows Nantes to breathe. Pesic enters the Nantes goals. But Nacinovic scored his 4th goal! (25-26)

40e : Montpellier is on fire! The MHB has just passed a 5-0 in Nantes. The Nantes coach takes a timeout (24-25).

39e: Missed shot from Nantes, two minutes for Minne and Montpellier will be on the power play for the next two minutes (23-25).

38e : on a rare loss of Nantes ball, Bos scores a new goal (22-25).

37e: Nacinovic, scored two new goals, in pivot then in counter-attack and the MHB remained alive (21-25).

35e: Porte responds to Briet and the MHB remains at 5 lengths (19-24).

33e: after 3 losses of balls, Nacinovic finally scores for the MHB (18-23).

31e: catastrophic start for the MHB, Skube loses the ball and Briet feasts on the counter-attack to mystify Bolzinger (17-23).

30e : Montpellier launched the start of the second period (17-21) but lost the first ball and Bolzinger could do nothing on Rivera’s wing shot (17-22).

HALF-TIME: Montpellier 17 – 21 Nantes. The first half was carried out at a crazy pace and it was the Nantes people who dictated the pace and easily found spaces. Heavily penalized in defense with two minutes, Montpellier will have to close ranks to return to the game and pursue their title dream.

30e : Nantes loses the ball, Bos goes on the counter-attack but misses his duel with Hallgrimsson. Rivera concluded the period with another successful 7m. (17-21).

28e : the offensive festival continues in this meeting, Montpellier comes back to three lengths (17-20).

27e: Bos on a throw of 7m, scored his 5th goal of the game (15-18). Bolzinger appears on a penalty but cannot stop Rivera’s shot (15-19).

26e : the MHB has the greatest difficulty in countering the Nantes attackers (14-18).

24th: Holst at the end of possession scored a cross shot which put Montpellier to two goals (14-16).

23e: the two-minute rain continues to fall on the MHB and Konan leaves after a jersey draw (13-16).

21e: the meeting gets carried away if it were still possible. Descat at the end of the counter-attack allows Montpellier to breathe (12-15).

20e : inspired in attack, Nantes with a reverse pass put Montpellier to the test in defense (11-14). Lenne completely misses his shot on the next attack.

19e : first timeout taken by Canayer while Montpellier struggles in attack (10-13) and Montpellier is still outnumbered. Descat for his return to competition scored his first goal on his first ball (11-13).

18e : in difficulty on a placed attack, Montpellier suffered a bit but Villeminot kept the MHB alive (10-12).

16e : for the first time in the match, Nantes took a two-goal lead with their quick attack (9-11).

15e : Desbonnet still pulls out a superb save on a counter-attack and Montpellier stays within range (9-10).

13e: on his left wing, Pellas equalized again (9-9).

11e : Bos on a throw of 7m, equalizes. and Rivera answers him on penalty also (8-9).

10e : Bos, returned to replace Porte, puts Montpellier up to Nantes (7-7). In the aftermath, Lenne hooks the shooter’s arm and takes an additional two minutes of suspension. Rivera converted the 7m (7-8).

9e : on a good shift to the Nantes left wing, Desbonnet pulls out a superb save and leaves the MHB in the game (6-7). Briet bails on the following attack of 2 minutes of suspension.

8th: Hallgrimsson is already making his second stop. Valentin Porte is again out for 2 minutes after a jersey draw, the next time he will be definitively excluded.

7e : in form at the start of the meeting Villeminot finds the fault at 9m. Nantes finds space too easy in the Montpellier defense (5-6).

6e : on a slightly forced shift, Porte decidedly not in verve, finds the post. On the next attack, Maqueda puts Nantes in front (4-5).

4e : on the MHB 7-a-side game, Montpellier lost the ball and Mine scored a distant goal in the empty cages (3-4).

3e : Porte’s first big intervention deemed irregular and who receives a 2-minute suspension.

2e: first save also for Hallgrimsson but on the next attack Villeminot scored the second Montpellier goal (2-1).

1e: Desbonnet makes the first save and Pellas opens the scoring in this part (1-0). Briet tied Nantes in stride (1-1).

0e : the kick-off of this final is given by Nantes. Meeting which will be refereed by the Bonaventura sisters.

H – 5′ : of the two teams, only two players have already won this trophy: Desbonnet and Simonet. On the Nantes side, no player present has already won the Cup.

H – 10′ : after qualifying for the Champions League, President Deljarry told BeinSport that a victory would be “the icing on the cake” of a successful season so far.

H – 15′ : Montpellier is in difficulty against the “H”, indeed since 2019, the MHB can no longer beat the Nantes. Tonight is a good opportunity to end this series against the “black beast”. A victory in the Cup would allow Montpellier to win a first trophy since 2018 and the Champions Trophy.

H – 25′ : in this day devoted to all the French Cups in Paris today, Metz won the Women’s French Cup at the expense of Paris 92 (37-24).

⭐ #HandAction
? Metz wins the Coupe de France against Paris 92! pic.twitter.com/o77EU3Wf8c

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) June 10, 2023

H – 30′ : the MHB trained on the Ivry floor this morning before heading to the Accor Arena to play the final.

Back in pictures on this morning’s muscle awakening, thanks to the@USIvryHB for the reception and the provision of their room?

See you tonight for the big shock at@Accor_Arena ?⚪️ pic.twitter.com/tid5Yy82GD

— Montpellier Handball (@mhbofficiel) June 10, 2023

H – 40′ : the handball day was rich, especially for our regional clubs with the defeat in the departmental French Cup of the Grabelois (23-30) and the victory in the regional French Cup of Nim’arguerittes (24-17).

H – 50′ : the pre-match takes place in a good-natured atmosphere between the two groups of supporters of Nantes and Montpellier, who often mix and appreciate each other.

? Rally of supporters between the two teams and the Fanfare du “H” sets the tone around the@Accor_Arena !

??#UnMurVioletAbercy pic.twitter.com/InPFrlEA5E

— HBCNantes (@HBCNantes) June 10, 2023

H – 60′ : many supporters made the trip to Paris, but for those who could not travel, the FDI Stadium is broadcasting the match.

For the supporters who stayed in Montpellier, see you all at #FDIStadium from 6:30 p.m., for the broadcast of the match on a giant screen ??⚪

The gerflor will be furnished with armchairs to give you a unique experience, just like in your living room?

? Refreshment and catering pic.twitter.com/cqWqZfNhMd

— Montpellier Handball (@mhbofficiel) June 10, 2023

From one triumphal arch to another…? After a whole night crossing France by bus, the Blue Fox arrived in Paris.

We look forward to seeing all of our supporters tonight at the@Accor_Arena ! ?⚪ pic.twitter.com/BwFy1IdVuz

— Montpellier Handball (@mhbofficiel) June 10, 2023

This is the high point of the Montpellier season. After having missed its final 4 of the European League concluded in 4th place and having finished 2nd in the championship just two small points from the Parisian ogre, the MHB can fill its trophy cabinet with a 14th Coupe de France.

To do this, you will have to be solid both physically and mentally against a Nantes team which has also had a long season (53rd match for both Nantes and Montpellier) and who will want to win their second Cup after the first obtained in 2017 against… .Montpellier (32-37).