MHB well on time in the European League: thanks to a stratospheric Simonet and an iron defense, Montpellier overcame Granollers

Eclaboussant la rencontre de toute sa classe, Diego Simonet a très bien mené le jeu d'attaque du MHB. Xavier Solanas – BM Granollers

Le MHB a fait un grand pas vers le tour principal de la Ligue européenne en s’imposant chez une belle équipe de Granollers (24-28), mardi 15 octobre en Catalogne.

When you play a handball match at 6:45 p.m. in the middle of Catalonia, you can't expect the crowd to be there on time for kick-off and the stadium to be packed to the brim at the end. On Tuesday evening in the old but magnificent Palau d’Esports de Granollers with its architecture and sound system worthy of the great days of the USSR, the MHB showed that its watch was well set.

In front of around fifty Blue Fox and around thirty of their close friends, Valentin Porte's teammates beat a tenacious Granollers team, having spent a large part of the match making them doubt, to finally fail by four goals after having scored only 24.

Read also: Granollers – MHB: "We have shown “experience”, “good to know how to win away”, post-match reactions

All of this allows Montpellier to take sole leadership of its group while only the first two will qualify for the main round. “Yes, for the moment, we are on time. It has to continue, the season is still long, but this kind of away match, in an atmosphere like this, these are matches that must be won. And so far, we have managed to do it”, Karl Konan was satisfied.

Defense and experience have paid off 

The best defender in the world – let's not mince words – was far from being a stranger to this second victory in two matches in the European Cup. Especially in the last quarter of an hour, when these devilish Spaniards spent their time targeting him, while he had already been sent off twice. The MHB only finished with 11 goals conceded in the second half.

However, well helped by their noisy and great forty ultras, the Catalans ended up surrendering. Their fast play and Roberto Rodriguez's 17 saves (37%) were not enough, with the 19 turnovers eventually weighing them down.

Even if we didn't play our best game, it's good to know how to win it, especially away

The fault lies with the experience of a Hérault team that didn't panic when Granollers came back to level (16-16, 39th), relying on its defense, also carried by Charles Bolzinger (10 saves including 8 in the first half).

But also on a levitating Diego Simonet on Tuesday evening (see below), holding a very pale MHB at arm's length in attack (28 goals on 53 shots at 53%). “I told the boys that we weren't going to win all our matches by 12 goals like we did recently, Érick Mathé reacted. But even if we don't play our best game, it's good to know how to win it, especially away from home."

A player in the game: Diego takes care of everything

AT GRANOLLERS, LUC CRESPON-LHERISSON

Montpellier has a rare player in Diego Simonet, a devil capable of coming out of his box at any time. At almost 35 years old, the Argentinian is the one who solves all the problems. A Spanish team that threatens to come back a little too close to the score ? Diego pulls two goals out of his hat, calming the ardor of his opponents as much as the worries of his teammates. In boss mode, the MHB veteran brings all his class and his vision. At the end of the game, it was again he who definitively extinguished Granollers who hoped to ignite the last minutes of the match. In the end, he finished with a near flawless shooting (6/7 including 3/3 on long-distance shots) and allowed the MHB to return from Granollers with a precious victory. And serious pretensions for the rest of the competition.