In a fully controlled match, Amiens Métropole Volley-Ball broke away from Calais (3-0) and flew into the 1/8 finals. A victory which leaves great prospects for Ali Nouaour’s men who will begin the return phase of the championship next Saturday at the Coliseum.
Before facing Calais, the objective was clear: to win to advance in a competition that the Picardy tactician appreciates and to gain confidence before the next deadlines. As such, the contract “is amply filled. I would like to do the same performance next week” confided Ali Nouaour. The latter recalled the uniqueness of the Coupe de France which is not always fully played by certain teams: “ Did Calais really come to win? I don’t know because they have some problems in their squad. We saw their starting passer who did not play. […] They have injured people in the center. So I told the players that we have a team that will be lined up against us, there will be no mercy.”. The Samarians did not indeed show mercy given the final result: “we had the right match. We didn’t necessarily give instructions because we didn’t know which players were going to play so we said we would give the instructions as we went along. We targeted the libero because he looked a little young and I think we served pretty well on him. […] With a team opposite which was playing at 60%, we saw that the first set was folded (25-16), the second the same (25-19)« .
This competition is, in the eyes of the Amiens tactician, beneficial for his workforce since “It allows us to play players like Hugo Jamroz, like Abdoul Hamdiou. They are players (from N3) who come regularly to train with the first team, who lend a hand to be able to play opposition”. The only danger the Samarians had to guard against lay in concentration. It was particularly in the middle of the third set that the Picards made their task more complicated before winning (25-17) : “I was a little afraid of this relaxation. I almost asked for a time out to gently lift the straps a little because there was an N3 level team or even lower and we couldn’t do it, we lost concentration a little. The entry of Abdoul Hamdiou was good, he gave us a series of serves which allowed us to win the match 3-0 so we are taking care of the physical condition of the players because we have to be ready against Halluin« affirmed Ali Nouaour.
This type of encounter allows players to reveal themselves. This was the case for Wyllan Annicette who had a complicated start to the season by losing his starting position but who fully responded this weekend in “giving satisfaction” to his coach. A revealing performance that the Amiens staff intends to analyze with the main interested party: “We will have a conversation with him to see how he felt about this match because he had a pretty good match. He served well, attacked well, defended a few balls so I hope he stays in this state of mind because we will need everyone this season” assured the Samarian coach.
This victory is in line with recent performances. According to Ali Nouaour, the mayonnaise has started to take effect against Vincennes: “we won at Vincennes, we followed up with a victory here against Beauvais, in Arles, we had a rather good match and we continued with Villejuif and today Calais. […] Now, we are focusing on Halluin to try to go on vacation with a little more peace of mind« .
French Federal Cup, 2nd round:
AMVB – LISSP (Calais): 3-0 [(25-16) (25-19) (25-17)]
Etienne Rycek
Photo credit: Théo Bégler – Gazettesports.fr
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