The match of fear this evening between Nîmes and Aix turned to the advantage of Aix. Completely dominated in the first period, the Nîmes nevertheless gave themselves the means to win. Under the leadership of Pardin, David Degouy's players thought they had done the hardest part but feverishly, they collapsed at the end and suffered a sixth consecutive defeat.
Six minutes of play. It took attend six minutes to see the Nîmes score their first goal of the match on a 7m throw from Mohammad Sanad and an even more frightening statistic in this first half, it took sixteen minutes and fifty seconds for David Degouy's players to score their first goal in the game. Before that, Sanad had converted five 7m throws, allowing USAM to stay in contact with Aix. Plagued by serious offensive problems during the first thirty minutes of play, the Nîmes still remained in the wake of the Provençals. Unfortunately, while the score was 11-13, the Green Team suffered a very painful 0-3 just before the break. USAM returned to the locker room trailing by five goals, 12-17 and it was hard to imagine the partners of Mohab Abdelhak, transparent this evening when he had achieved almost everything last week in Montpellier, reversing the situation in the second half .
And yet the improbable happened. USAM came back with better intentions at the start of the second half. Transfigured in the image of their goalkeeper Wesley Pardin, the Usamists were part of their delay. In the 42nd minute, Yoann Gibelin even brought Nîmes level with Aix. Less than a minute later, the former Parisian even put his team ahead for the first time in the match. But Aix came back again and again. The Provençaux, lost without Romain Lagarde who only played in the defensive phase, seemed to have left their handball in the locker room but had the merit of not giving up. In the atmosphere of great evenings, the flies seemed to have changed their minds. But USAM cracked once again in the final moments and with the excitement that characterizes them at the moment, David Degouy's players let the match slip away… synonymous with a sixth consecutive defeat. And a sporting crisis that the Nîmes club has not experienced for a long time.
David Degouy’s reaction: “ It's a very shared feeling. We made a good comeback in the second half but it wasn't enough. We had a very good state of mind, the group fought. We took me where we wanted but we had significant failures in money-time. We have a +2 ball but we don't make it happen. I don't think there was any excitement, there was a bad choice. We were unable to conclude even though we had the cards in hand. We showed character, the public pushed us. But that wasn't enough. We found fast and transitional play. We were able to impose a defensive fight. It's a shame !”
USAM Nîmes Gard : Sé (0 saves), Pardin (15 saves) – Poyet, Peyre, Derisbourg (1 goals), Rebichon, Gibelin (4 goals), Konradsson, Vincent (4 goals), Kamtchop-Baril (3 goals), Gibernon (2 goals), Tobie (4 goals), Acquevillo (2 goals), Kaczor (1 goal), Abdelhak, Sanad (6 goals)
