Reduced to 14 and beaten at home by Rouen on Friday April 2, ASBH heavily jeopardized its chances of qualifying for the finals. Waste or shortcomings?
The spark, which only asks to be rekindled within the ASBH powder keg, seems to have definitively died out this Friday, after a defeat (23-25) inglorious at home, Friday against Rouen. A match entry lead by the red card of pillar Jorji Saldadze after 45 seconds of play. A match which now relegates the Hérault club to eight points from 6th qualifying place. A symbolic match of the procrastination of the Red and Blue this season.
“We shot each other in the foot. This defeat is a big blow to our morale.”, testifies the 3rd line Eloi Massot. “We can only blame ourselves, because we have alternated hot and cold since the start of the season”, connects the 2nd line Jonathan Best, whose swan song is close. For the last season of his career, the former Grenoblois would still like to believe in it but … “Mathematically, everything is still possible, but if we want to play in the finals, we have to win these matches. However, if we are able to beat the big teams as we did in Perpignan, we are also capable of lose twice against Rouen and Angoulême. Maybe we saw each other too good? “, he slices.
Chronic indiscipline
This chronic irregularity owes much to theindiscipline, despite the daily advice given by referee Alexandre Ruiz. Twenty-six cards, including four reds, is too much for an ambitious team but sorely lacking in control. “We lacked composure. Too bad, because we are having a good season”, Judge Eloi Massot.
Best puts the pressure back on: “We are back down to earth. Now we have to finish the championship cleanly and ensure our maintenance as quickly as possible. We will quickly see if we have character with a trip to Oyonnax on Thursday, then the reception of Perpignan.”
“Better days”
Or how to spoil the convincing victory (41-15) against Biarritz last week. Even if in retrospect, the worst could have happened after the real-false buyout of the club by Emirati investors during the offseason. “Few people would have bet on us last September. We were able to get our heads out of the water by making some nice matches, we must not spit on that. We will have better days”, concludes an optimistic Eloi Massot, eager to ward off the frustrations of a truly ruined weekend.
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