MHB – Saint-Raphaël: “It was a dream match to start”, “It was only one match, 29 left”, post-match reactions

Valentin Porte et les Montpelliérains ont réussi leurs débuts en championnat. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

For its first Starligue match this season, the MHB thrashed Saint-Raphaël (31-18), Friday, September 6 at the FDI Stadium, provoking the satisfaction of its new coach, Erick Mathé.

Montpellier

Erick Mathé, coach of the MHB:“I can only be satisfied with this match. We started this match and the championship very well. We wanted to be tough defensively and I think we were. We wanted to move forward quickly because we knew Saint-Raphaël was very weakened, even if we also had our share. We are happy but we are not going to add to it, it was a full match. We know that Montpellier – Saint-Raphaël are difficult matches to play, we are not going to deny ourselves the pleasure.

Starligue: the program for the first day.

I don't want to fall into self-satisfaction, it was a very good performance. It's sure that a lot of things worked but on the other side, they can be disappointed with the result of certain actions. It was only one game, there are 29 left but I prefer to start the season this way but what matters to me is what will happen next."

Ahmed Hesham, MHB left back: "It was a perfect game even if we didn't have much time to prepare. It's a good start, we're happy. Rémi was great, the attack, the defense too… It was a dream match to start. My level? It's okay, it's okay, it wasn't bad (laughs)."

Saint-Raphaël

Benjamin Braux, Saint-Raphaël coach: "Thirteen goals difference is a lot. We were ineffective in attack, we knew it was going to be complicated in the duels with the absentees we had. We missed a lot of shots, we exposed ourselves to their counters."