Nîmes humiliated at Parnasse by the MHB: an exemplary Captain Porte, a transparent Abdelhak on all sides… the tops and flops of the derby

Valentin Porte (à gauche), Mohab Abdelhak (à droite)… deux matches opposés. MIDI LIBRE – Alexis Bethune

A Valentin Porte who showed the way to MHB, a Mohab Abdelhak with absent subscribers, just like the suspense during this derby won by Montpellier against Usam Nîmes (16-27) Sunday March 3… Find the tops and flops of the meeting.

LES TOPS

Valentin Porte opened the way 

In the small storm that the MHB was going through, with this series of three consecutive defeats, a captain was necessarily needed to show the way to the Montpellier residents in a Parnasse which wanted to be hellish. Particularly thanks to the prowess of Valentin Porte at the start of the first half, then throughout the match, the Nîmes enclosure very quickly lost its hostility. In addition to a defensive commitment that we know, the Hérault right-back also threw his weight into attack with seven goals scored, being the top scorer for his team. And the man of the match at the same time.

But also in the pass, by creating the offsets or by serving the pivots. All to achieve the best match of his season, and what's more, at the best of times. With surely the desire to prove to others and to himself his importance within the MHB collective, the fault of a talk by Patrice Canayer, Saturday.

Above all, I wanted to set an example on the ground and in the end I was followed by the whole team.

"Patrice stung us, he stung me too and I don’t really like being stung when I feel that it has no reason to be, a explained Porte after the victory in Nîmes. So before the match, I was extremely motivated, and where I am happy is that the rest of the team was too. It allowed me to have a very big match. Above all, I wanted to set an example on the ground and in the end I was followed by the whole team. And it’s just happiness, you have to enjoy it because it’s not like that every day."

In his cage, Rémi Desbonnet, very good Sunday, was able to witness all of this: "He showed himself as a leader and as we like to see him. By first being impeccable on the pitch, then behind we all want to put ourselves on the same level as a guy like that.

The right state of mind

Although the match was tough from start to finish, this derby was still played in an excellent state of mind, from the first to the last minute.

The difference in the score helped, we were light years away from a derby where Rebichon had received a red card a few years ago, despite some well-felt traffic jams, obviously.

The Montpellier defense

To achieve an overwhelming victory during this derby between Montpellier and Nîmes, Patrice Canayer's team was able to be above the rest in defensive intensity, Porte, Nacinovic or Konan in the lead. Proof of this is that the Nîmes only scored seven small goals in the second period, Rémi Desbonnet being able to curl his mustache in the cages. 

"When you're a goalkeeper and you concede 16 goals, you can't ask for much better. Above all, it was crazy to play with a defense of such intensity, such consistency in the rotations throughout the match,” said Desbonnet after the meeting.

THE FLOPS

Abdelhak passes by

During the first leg last October and the defeat of his team at the Arena (25-23 defeat), Nîmes Mohab Abdelhak spent 30 minutes on the floor and played a decent match, nothing more (3/8). Sunday, on the floor of Parnasse, the Egyptian international right-back passed like a current of air on the field, barely seven minutes to go… not much very good – an assist and 0/2 shooting.

However, this derby was a good way to be seen. In each camp, there were some hopefuls of world handball. If, on the MHB side, the former Usamiste Hesham, 23 years old, with a long-term knee injury, was missing, the Brazilian Bryan Monte, 20 years old, was very present, at 3/5 in 42 minutes from his post. rsquo;left rear.

And like a meeting where the MHB scattered the Green team, Abdelhak was unable to bear comparison with the South American. The recent African champion started his match on the bench. And when he came out, in the 18th minute, in addition to coming across an overheating Desbonnet in his cage, Abdelhak produced nothing.

In the second half, coach Yann Balmossière, who had perhaps already seen enough, left the Egyptian on the bench who, head down, observed the helplessness of his training. An evening to quickly forget for everyone, on the Nîmes side. And a little more for Abdelhak, who did everything backwards until the end. Not very effective during his short appearance on the field (7’29), Mohab Abdelhak was even less effective in front of the microphones at the end of the evening, skipping the mixed zone by running off go quickly.

A failing Nîmes attack and collective play

While many people were saying that it was the year of Usam to finally win in a derby, due to the poor form of Montpellier and its numerous injuries, none of this happened for Yann Balmossière's troupe. 

The counterpart of the Hérault defense at all times is necessarily the ineffectiveness of Nîmes in attack, which only proved by a few actions completed on the wing, the power of its collective. 

The absence of suspense

This 47th derby in the championship between MHB and Usam, the big absence from this meeting was suspense. The fault lies with Montpellier who are far too strong for Nîmes, distancing themselves from the start of the match with a 7-2 in favor of MHB from the 12th minute.

And the start of the second period changed nothing for the Usamists, with a 6-0 conceded straddling the two periods to kill any suspense (9-19, 36th). And even though Patrice Canayer was spinning at the end of the match, the Nîmes still failed to score more than ten goals. 

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