The Cavigal season took a bad turn tonight. After two consecutive losses in the league, Cyril Parmentelot’s men missed their chance to return to the podium.
On the field of Pau Billère, Cavigal had a lot at stake. Struggling since April and two defeats against Montpellier and Aix-en-Provence, the players from Nice needed to respond to hope to stay close to the podium. Especially since Pau Billère is in direct competition for one of the top three spots.
Cavigal delivered an intense match. The team from Nice started the game well, staying close in score. Very active at the beginning of the match, Kristian Vassilev had an impressive performance in attack (11 goals). However, despite strong defensive intensity and a good start from Maxime Aicardi in goal, Nice went into the locker room trailing by three goals (13-16), largely due to the Pau goalkeeper, Salif Traoré (11 saves).
Back from the locker rooms, Cyril Parmentelot’s players did not give up. Driven by Vassilev’s success on seven-meter throws and good entries from Lucas Luiset and Elouan Bechec, the team from Nice gradually closed the score gap. Captain Alexis Bon, despite tough opposition defense, was also valuable in keeping up the pressure.
With two minutes to go, Cavigal even had an opportunity to take the lead after coming back to a tie (28-28) thanks to a successful shot from Lucas Luiset. But BHB managed to find the resources to score the decisive goal in the final minute, despite a last-ditch attempt by Nice being stopped by the opposing goalkeeper.
After a final timeout requested by the coach, Cavigal fell (29-28) and allowed their opponents to advance in the standings. Pau Billère made a successful move by snatching the 4th place from the team from Nice, who dropped to a temporary 5th place. The Azur team is just one point away from third place and two points from second. Cavigal can no longer afford any mistakes with two matches remaining in the championship. A reaction is expected next Saturday at Pasteur against the bottom team, the other team from Pau, Nousty. Kick-off is at 8:30 PM for the last home game of the season.
