All the victories are beautiful … But the one obtained, Friday evening, by Saran Loiret Handball (Proligue), on the floor of Dijon (29-27), was a little more than the others, as the days and hours preceding the meeting had proved complicated with four cases of Covid-19 and more than a week without collective training at the Jacques-Mazzuca hall .
The joy of the players and the technical staff in Côte-d’Or, at the final whistle, echoed the relief of the whole club, of those who remained in the Loiret who had just followed the performance of the Septors from a distance, impeccable in attitude, to the point of seeking success, extremely important in the perspective of accession to the Starligue, which keeps them in a place of co-leaders in the ranking, along with Pontault-Combault. A success that was built around three key ideas. Details.
1. The state of mind
Once the victory was confirmed, Fabien Courtial, the Saranese coach, did not speak of relief… He especially insisted on the state of mind of his troops and on the way in which they had approached the meeting. “My speech focused on the carelessness that it was necessary to show, on the enthusiasm too”, he said. In view of the situation, with a reduced workforce, reduced, weakened in terms of its rotations, “We were no longer in the position of a favorite. A position that bothers us sometimes, that makes us thwart or play with the fear ”, added Fabien Courtial. “We knew the context was complicated. We knew that the Covid-19 was going to fall on us, at some point in the season. We knew we might lose in Dijon, and that would be part of the ups and downs of the season. So we tried to be conquerors ”. Bingo!
2. The tactical option
Starting, Friday, the Saranese defended with a stepped system, in 1-5, positioned behind Jordi Deumal at the forefront. Overall, the Septors defended high and pushed the Dijon away from their cage. Nicolas Gauthier and Valentin Kieffer, in goal, did not release extraordinary statistics with a total of nine stops, but the Saranese recovered precious balloons which allowed them to stay in contact with their opponents before gaining the upper hand in the last quarter of an hour.
3. Individualities
In Dijon, the Septors clearly put on the heating blue …
“At the end of the first half, I was a little scared when I saw the guys leaving a lot of strength in the battle, but it held up”,
Fabien Courtial (Coach of Saran Loiret Handball)
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The hard work done by Jordi Deumal, at the tip of 1-5, is thus to be underlined, as the role of Jeremiah Courtois who, in the central axis, knew perfectly how to articulate the defensive device. A device that worked from the start, 4-1, (6th), and which put everyone in confidence.
Other satisfactions: the copy returned by Kevin Taufond, half-center holder, and the performance of Thomas Toupance, attractive and complete on both sides of the field, especially at the left-back position with a playing time of around 30 minutes. And then the slaughter ofHadrien ramond, in the interior game, worked wonders, once again, when it came to causing the opposing faults and obtaining penalties.
One of the downsides of the evening came from the lack of efficiency on the seven-meter jets with no less than four shooters called upon: Avelange-Demouge, Deumal, Muller and Taufond. The Saranese obtained an additional day of rest on Monday, March 8. They will not play again until March 16 with the reception of Sarrebourg. In the meantime, they will have plenty of time to recover their patients, those who stay on three straight wins, against Besançon, Massy and Dijon. “It’s not bad,” sums up the Saranese coach with accuracy.
Laurent Coursimault
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