Montpellier fought hard to reach the quarter-finals of the Handball Champions League on Wednesday by dominating (30-24) Zagreb in a long tense and clashing encounter. The double European champion will play the 10th C1 quarter-final in its history at the end of April against German champion Kiel, led by international goalkeeper and ex-Montpellier Samir Bellahcene.
“I am very satisfied with the team which went for qualification when it was the most difficult. She drew on her mental resources to accept this and move forward. She then showed her qualities to get her place in the quarter-final,” noted manager Patrice Canayer. On Wednesday, in its historic lair, the MHB confirmed its superiority at the expense of the Croatians of Zagreb, held in check (27-27) a week earlier in their 15,000-seat enclosure. Two weeks after its elimination in the semi-final of the Coupe de France by Paris SG (32-35), which angered its manager Patrice Canayer, the partners of captain Valentin Porte have partly assumed their responsibilities.
Eliminated in the Cup, left behind in the championship by the leader and champion Paris SG, Montpellier can still dream of the Final Four in Cologne, six years after its second coronation (2018), and offer a great exit to its emblematic manager, who will leave his functions in June. Annoyed for forty minutes by the catchy Croats, Montpellier found its sensations in defense around international Karl Konan and his goalkeeper Rémi Desbonnet, with the decisive entry in the 17th minute in relay from Charles Bolzinger.
“We really knew how to achieve a great defensive performance. We were tense at the start, especially as Zagreb put us in difficulty with the attacks we made. In the second half, it became a trench war. We defended well and raised our level,” highlighted goalkeeper Rémi Desbonnet. Furthermore, Slovenian playmaker Stas Skube, elected man of the match, took responsibility in attack to be the top scorer (6 goals), full of composure on penalties and skilful in interval shots.
In the absence of real solutions in attack, the MHB offered itself goals on the counter-attack through its Spanish winger Jaime Fernandez. Montpellier then opened up a significant first gap (24-19, 46th) which it consolidated without really trembling until the end. During the first forty minutes, MHB only led once (8-7). He was very laborious before fully freeing himself to give himself the right to experience a 10th quarter-final.
