Handball. A draw with the flavor of defeat before the holidays, for Pau-Billère

Lemonnier, from start to finish

Before being crucified at the very end of the match by Lemonnier, who managed to snatch a draw, the ball circulated quickly and well through the Billerois ranks. But the Auvergnats put up a strong defense, particularly in the middle. Thanks to this, the visitors surprised the Palois, even managing to take the lead, thanks to a double from Zachary Lemonnier, the real executioner of the Billerois (0-2, 2^e).

But the PBH initially had no time to doubt (2-2, 3^e). Baptiste Gaillard, from the penalty spot, even gave him the advantage for the first time in the match (4-3, 6^e). In the axis, the battle raged. A little too much for the visiting giant Dourte (2.07 m), who, following a mistake by Valentin Tarrico, came off his hinges and propelled his opposite number to the ground. Stéphanie Derache didn't hesitate long to show the red card against Auvergne after only 10 minutes of play. Enough to give even more rhythm to the game, and not enough to satisfy fans of defensive play. On the other side of the field, however, it was a festival. On the right wing, Hichem Daoud found the fault, but what about Lorenzo Briant, who made the talk with his left arm (5 goals in the first period)?

From +7 to a draw

Since the start of the season, Cournon has had the penultimate defense in the division and remains on 80 goals conceded in two games. At the break, we were exactly average, Pau-Billère Handball leading 21-17. Returning from the locker room, Rares Fortuneanu changed his wingers with the entry of Rémi Commenges on the left and Edu Reig on the right. Vadim Gayduchenko then gave the locals a 5-length lead for the first time (22-17, 31^e). Honor to the Béarnais with the +7 goal scored by Rémi Commenges (27-20, 36^e). But the PBH sky quickly darkened with the injury exit of Kévin Baige, who came to fill an already congested infirmary.

Especially since at the same time, the lead began to melt like snow in the sun on the slopes of Gourette (32-28, 47^e). The unthinkable finally happened, the PBH began to stammer with its handball. Louis Barré may have performed wonders, but Cournon was chipping away at his delay, again and again (33-30, 51^e). We expected a quiet end to the evening, but the last five minutes brought Sporting d'Este into the harbor of anxiety, when Matéo Grosjean completely restarted the match (34-33, 54th). The PBH tried everything, playing at 7, but it didn't work out well. After making a save, the Auvergne goalkeeper left no one to equalize (36-36, 59^e). We thought that Roméo Kersauson was going to offer success to his team (37-36), but there were 30 seconds left and Cournon was on the offensive… Enough for Lemonnier to dampen the mood before the holidays.