Paris (AFP)
The Saint-Raphael counter is still blocked on zero: the Var club, candidate for the European places, conceded a fourth defeat by falling against Ivry (28-31) Wednesday during the 4th day of Starligue Handball always flown over by the PSG .
Alone in the lead, the club of the capital has signed a fourth victory by mastering Toulouse (34-28) thanks to 7 goals of Nedim Remili, while Montpellier, his main rival, had to work to snatch a precious success in Tremblay (26-25).
The team of Saint-Raphaël, it has failed to save the face and decidedly hard to turn the page Joel da Silva, whose coaching contract had not been renewed at the end of the past season.
It was he who had made the SRVHB live his best hours, including a second place in the Championship in 2016 and an EHF Cup final (C2) in 2018. His former assistant Rares Fortuneanu, promoted to head coach, has all the troubles of the world to run the shop, as this conceded setback has shown again.
Ivry, who had barely survived in the elite last season, was not a scarecrow. But the Var, despite the reinforcements of Daniel Sarmiento and Alexander Lynggaard, back from injury, have still taken their feet in the carpet.
Led by Mathieu Bataille and Linus Persson (6 goals apiece), Ivry took control after 20 minutes of play, to almost no longer let go and give himself a first victory.
Good last with a zero point, Saint-Raphaël undergoes a trajectory opposite to that of the PSG, which is in the lead. In the second place is Aix, who has preserved his unbeaten record with Istres (31-23).
Nantes, intractable during his trip to Chartres (38-28), a promoted, completed the podium but with the same number of points (6) as Montpellier (4th) who got his third victory, at the finish, thanks to the leader of Argentine game Diego Simonet.
Dunkirk reassured himself by signing a second success at the expense of Créteil (27-20).
This 4th day will end Thursday in Savoie during the duel between Chambéry and Nîmes, two outsiders in search of redemption.
© 2019 AFP