MHB captain Valentin Porte returned to the poor result in the draw conceded against Toulouse (28-28) last Saturday, before the trip to Chartres on Friday December 20 during the 15th day of Starligue, for the last match before the break international.
The pill from the Toulouse match (28-28) must have been difficult to swallow, right?
Yes, because it’s an eternal beginning again, I have the impression. It’s heavy because every year, it’s a bit the same at this time. It turns out it’s the same team every time, so that explains it, because it’s a very good team. In other years, it bothered me less because we had taken a volley, and there was no photo. I prefer that to dominating a match head and shoulders and drawing the match. When talking to Toulouse residents, even they don’t understand how it’s possible.
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Time will tell, but losing this point could make all the difference later in the season. It’s really annoying… It doesn’t ruin everything else but it’s hard. God knows if we put the kibosh on it by saying: “Be careful, in this period, I feel that it can be difficult”. I’m not asking for much, but in this match, they were even more on the street than us, physically. There was a way to do it, we just had to sting it a little more and we’d get the job done.
What bothered you the most about this result, the defense or the attack?
In defense, having reviewed the match a little and discussed with Toulouse, their seven-on-six attack was of very high quality. They caused problems for everyone. But I don’t have the impression that they easily found the solution each time, we defended quite well. But they were extremely successful. There are shots that we had planned to take to this or that place to make saves or recover balls… They made them, but we suffered less from this seven against six than in previous years. In attack, we can score more than 28 goals. Beyond that, it’s a little extra investment that should have been made. That’s what bothered me a little. We had to be on the ground for five minutes and they would have given up.
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We missed three penalties, shots at the pivot… Missing shots doesn’t bother me, but that’s the image you send back. You have the impression that we are a little nonchalant, easy. While we are in a period where you have to close your eyes and pull very hard where you can. And that’s the speech that Erick has been making since the beginning of the month: “We don’t care how, you just have to win.” So you have to put on your helmet, you do everything thoroughly and in most matches it will hold up because all the teams are a little washed out.
What discussion did you have between you?
We talked about everyone’s feelings, we hurt ourselves by looking at the stats, saying how we managed not to win it. But we didn’t dwell too much on it either, because the danger is that there is still an away match, and this one is very, very dangerous too. We feel it, we still have a lot of injuries, we have everyone who is a little physically and mentally tired. We only want to go on break and on vacation, I think. But it’s like that for everyone. We have to hurt ourselves for another hour, and then we’ll go and enjoy a little.
Aren’t there even more regrets after Nantes’ victory against Paris?
Yes of course. Because you don’t have to be a renowned mathematician to calculate that if you win that match you could actually be only two points behind the other two, that is to say one victory away from them. There, even if you beat Nantes in February, you are still one point behind. Paris just needs to fill up, and it’s over. Two years ago, this defeat in Toulouse cost us the title. I know very well that one point can make all the difference. In 2018, for example, we lost the title because of goal average…
What do you expect from the team in Chartres?
I’m not expecting great handball, because since December, we haven’t been playing great handball. I can understand that. I just want us to do simple things, but do it with 100% commitment, one last time before the break. Let’s work hard and reward ourselves a little at the start of the season. Let us have as much fun as possible outside, in a very beautiful room. There is everything to have fun. We might as well try to finish with a great victory and leave with a smile.
Will victory be enough for it to be a success?
Honestly, I don’t give a damn. If we win 19-18 and the match is filthy, I don’t care. I just want to take two points and go on a peaceful vacation.
You’ll be happy to be on vacation afterwards, right?
Yes, it will feel good. We’ve been there for a while. It’s always like that. This period is always complicated. And casually, we are not spoiled by injuries. We lose Diego again. It works hard. It’s not a shame to say it. I think for a lot of teams too, but for us, fortunately it ends this Friday evening.
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