Champions League: MHB ended up largely giving in to Veszprém, despite a crazy comeback allowing them to be in front at half-time

Le jeune Prat a encore brillé pour le MHB. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

Le Montpellier Handball a fini par logiquement plier face à la grosse écurie Veszprém lors de la 13e journée de Ligue des champions (31-37), jeudi 29 février au FDI Stadium. 

This may not have been enough given the state of the troops, weakened by the absence of four major players. Especially against the Hungarian armada, programmed to win this Champions League which has been avoiding them for so long. But the Montpellier Handball players had the merit of trying and above all not giving up despite a first quarter of an hour given to the players of  Veszprém.

Moment chosen by Patrice Canayer to take a first timeout and make his voice resonate all the way to the roof of a noisy FDI Stadium, although it was filled to the brim. His players having already trailed by five goals (6-11, 14th) and above all being overwhelmed in the physical commitment in defense, it was enough for the coach with 30 years spent on the MHB bench. Taking care, in passing, to remove the microphone from the television to let his anger explode in complete discretion. 

Also read: VIDEO. Patrice Canayer: "I love these players but I'd really like them to show what they can do"

"I told them what was on my heart, said the Hérault technician after the meeting, without giving more details on his remarks. I love these players and this group, it’s just love. But I would like so much that at some point, they show what they are capable of doing. When I hear from Veszprém that it's hard to play here… But make the match tough by not letting Remili shoot you in the head."

Prat, it’s amazing

The fault actually lies with a diabolical Veszprém, led by the best player of the last Euro, the Frenchman Nedim Remili (14 assists), or his pivot compatriot, trained at the Hérault house, Ludovic Fabregas so strong on both ends of the pitch. 

Stung, Valentin Porte's teammates then attempted a crazy comeback, refusing to feel sorry for their fate and each other's injuries.

First by setting up the defensive slider necessary for such a Champions League match, in order to allow the best raiser in Europe, Rémi Desbonnet, to launch his arrows on the counter-attack in order to grab (11- 13, 20th). But also and above all, thanks to the enthusiasm of Kylian Prat (4 goals), in line with his match against Paris SG last Sunday (26-31). 

A crazy climb, in vain

The worst part is that this almost gave rise to doubts about the Magyar team, composed mainly of replacements at that time, led by one unit' nbsp;at halftime (18-17). Particularly after a sequence that shook the Montpellier room during which Sebastian Karlsson scored two goals on the counter-attack after impeccable defenses.

However, Veszprém's talent, experience and squad ended up making the difference quite logically after the break. With a renewed defensive intensity, and goalkeeper saves – 13 for the Hungarians against 7 for the MHB – Veszprém ended up swallowing up the Montpellier residents.

Always fourth in the pool

Although the latter experienced their third defeat in a row on Thursday evening, they still scored more than 30 goals against one of the best teams in Europe, with a squad reworked.

Although they still haven't beaten Veszprém since September 2019, they are still fourth in this Champions League group, thanks to Gog's draw against Plock. And above all, although they are not at full strength, the wounded will return.

Montpellier Handball will really need it because if it loses to Barcelona on Thursday, and Gog wins against Porto at the same time, it will be able to say goodbye to this fourth place and will have to travel during these "round of 16" return. 

I subscribe to read more