Nantes crushes Aix-en-Provence and remains in ambush in the standings

Never worried in a match dominated from start to finish, Nantes slapped Pays d’Aix for the latest from Thierry Anti on the bench (39-28). The H remains in the race for the first two places with PSG and Montpellier while Aix-en-Provence sees the European places move away.

The Violets started strong by taking a six-goal lead after nine minutes of play (7-1) thanks to an untenable Alexandre Cavalcanti (7/9 shooting this Saturday). The gap then stabilized around five goals for the rest of the first half. If the guards made five saves each, the Pauc was too imprecise in front of the cages. The Aixois misplaced six shots out of bounds against a single Nantes side. This difference explains the advantage of five goals acquired by HBC Nantes at the break in an open match offensively (19-14).

Ten goal difference with fifteen minutes to go

In the second half, Nantes continued to be effective in attack while increasing the physical impact in defense, leaving few solutions to Aixois. The goalkeepers did not weigh on the match and the Violets continued their offensive demonstration to take a ten-goal lead with a quarter of an hour remaining. With five players with four or more goals, Grégory Cojean even allowed himself to rotate his squad in the last minutes, the substitutes being just as diligent as the starters.

With this overwhelming success, Nantes remains two points behind leader Montpellier and tied with PSG, who travel to Chambéry this Sunday. Aix-en-Provence’s complicated period continues despite their victory against Benidorm in the European League on Tuesday. PAUC has a seventh defeat in its last eight matches and is seven points behind the European places.