We should not expect a miracle during this double confrontation against Germany during the test event organized on the grounds of the Yves-du-Manoir stadium which will host the Games this summer.
Among the men, the French team was deprived of eight starters, selected by the play-offs of the Belgian Championship in which half of the squad plays, to challenge the 4th nation in the world. On the women’s side, the team led by Gaël Foulard, ranked 20th in the FIH rankings, faced a German team firmly established in 3rd place. Despite these large gaps on paper, Bleus and Bleues do not have to be ashamed of their defeat.
“We played this same team a year ago and the German coach was a little amazed by our progress”
Gaël Foulard, coach of the Bleues
Honor to the ladies who offered solid resistance to the visitors, only losing 2-0 thanks to a great collective momentum and a very inspired goalkeeper, Lucie Ehrmann. On field no. 2, which, the day after the Games, will become the property of the French Hockey Federation to host international matches, the French women, led by their captain Emma Ponthieu, whose brother Théophile is a starter on the men’s team, were level for a half before giving in on a small corner in the 36th minute then suffering the opposing pressure materialized by a second goal from play in the 45th.
“If we are a little demanding and competitive, we can always have regretsconfided coach Gaël Foulard after the meeting. Despite the adversity and the level of the team opposite, we really have nothing to be ashamed of our performance. The German coach came to see me at the end of the match. We played this same team a year ago and he was a little amazed by our progress and our level of play achieved in one year. It’s always an honor to get this kind of compliment from a great coach. We managed to defend our skin, we had a great opportunity to come back to 2-1 but despite everything, this 2-0 against the 3rd nation in the world has a great flavor. »
On the main field, located on the legendary Colombes enclosure and which will become the property of Racing 92 the day after the Games, the Blues (9th in the FIH ranking) produced an excellent defensive performance during a very balanced first 20 minutes. Something to rejoice for coach Frédéric Be after the delicate starts to the match against Belgium and Spain, on the same field, last month.
“We had a great first halfhe insisted in the mixed zone. We defended really well, we had done a little work compared to previous matches. We are in a somewhat special context, we played with a younger team. We didn’t have a bad match, we expected to suffer more. Afterwards, we still paid for small mistakes and we missed a little offensive impact but overall there were some interesting things. We continue our progress, it allowed us to see young players against a top-level team in the world and it gave them playing time to gain some experience in this stadium which will be our stronghold during the Games. »
“We have to try to maintain this rigor, not to stray from the game plan because each time, it’s very hard to come back”
Victor Lockwood, captain of the Blues
In front of empty stands, since the stadium is still under construction and this test event only welcomes a few relatives, officials and volunteers in a sort of dress rehearsal before the first Olympic meeting on July 27, the French were able to relying on an Arthur Thieffry who was always so reassuring in the cages when the white waves broke in his circle. Paul Kauffman’s first goal on a clear action rewarding German possession was followed by a few saves from the Lille goalkeeper while on the left wing the opposing breakthroughs became more and more threatening.
Half-time could have calmed the storm but it did not, Andre Henning’s men scored two new goals, from play in the 33rd minute, then from a penalty stroke in the 41st minute. We had to wait until the 47th minute to witness the first little blue corner, a sign of offensive shortcomings, immediately transformed by Cristoforo Peters-Deutz. Gonzalo Peillat returned the favor in the 50th and the somewhat unbridled end of the match allowed Lucas Montecot to reduce the score with an unstoppable shot while a new two-step exploit from Thieffry could not prevent a fifth German goal on small corner.
“We were a little apprehensive because there were quite a few players missingrecognized the French captain Victor Lockwood. Despite the result, we showed attitudes throughout the match. Afterwards, we still defended a lot and we tried to delay the deadline as much as possible. The strength of the Germans is really their ability to be patient with the ball. Even when they have weak moments, they manage to manage well while we are a little impatient offensively and defensively. In the third quarter, it was 1-0, we felt we had the balls and we discovered ourselves a little, we paid for it in cash. We have to try to maintain this rigor, not to stray from the game plan because each time, it’s very hard to come back. » A second chance is offered to the Blues this Sunday evening.
