Paris take a giant leap towards the quarter-finals
Nikola Karabatic, his brother Luka, Dainis Kristopans...Despite missing almost a whole team due to injury, Paris won their 10th game in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League.
It wasn't an easy one, though, as Bucarest fought tough, and stayed in the game until the last quarter. But, after losing Ali Zein to an ankle injury, the visitors fell short in the last 15 minutes, while Paris were able to count on a few of their youngsters to keep the rhythm and extend their lead.
Despite Magdeburg winning in Veszprem in the other game of the evening, Paris are not quite in the quarter-finals yet, as they still need another point in order to secure one of the two top spots in the group.
GROUP A
Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) vs CS Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) 32:25 (17:14)
- the first half was played at breakneck speed, with both teams turning balls over and trying to score quick goals; neither side took the upper hand in the first twenty minutes
- Dominik Mathe and Elohim Prandi then helped Paris put their foot to the pedal even stronger, with both scoring four goals to put the hosts ahead by three at the break
- thanks to Ante Kuduz and Javier Humet, who netted a combined 13 goals, Dinamo remained within reach of Paris for another 15 minutes after half-time
- with Jannick Green pulling out 12 saves, Paris finally pulled further ahead on the scoreboard in the last quarter, taking a maximum advantage of seven goals at the siren
- Javier Humet scored seven for Dinamo, finishing as top scorer of the game while Elohim Prandi netted six for Paris
Paris remain leaders of the group with 20 points and now only need one more to get through to the quarter-finals. Dinamo are fifth with 11 points
The youngsters shine for Paris
When all the experienced players are injured there is only one way to go, and it is to have the youngsters on the court. Even if it's in a tight Champions League game. Tonight, despite not getting much playing time since the start of the season, Yoann Gibelin and line player, Gautier Loredon stepped up and scored a combined five goals, showing that they also are players that belong in the Champions League.
We were pretty good at the beginning of the game but, after, with our several injuries it was more difficult. I know Paris has also a lot of injuries, but for us we need to have everybody available to have a chance in this type of match.
It is a very important win because there are not many games left in the group stage. And it’s an important win to finish on the two first spots.
