Paris (AFP)

After a first leg of the Women's League largely lost in Metz (31-24), the Brest handball players face a dilemma before the return on Sunday (3.35 p.m.): give everything, at the risk of compromising their chances in the next Final 4 of the Ligue des champions in a week.

Is it possible in the space of four days to regain the energy to overthrow a final of the championship of France?

This is the challenge that awaits Laurent Bezeau's players on Sunday afternoon in their Arena, where they will finally find their public and 800 supporters to try to change the final.

This double confrontation comes at the heart of the most important fortnight in the history of the BBH: last week the club won its third Coupe de France by beating Nantes in Créteil, and in a week, it will play its first Final 4 in Budapest. of the Champions League.

The final of the Coupe de France blunted the Brestoises who have been jostled like never in recent months by the Messines.

They achieved their best game of the season at the best time, carried by their German goalkeeper Dinah Eckerle (seven saves), their center-half Méline Nocandy (six out of six) and their left-back / center-half Tjasa Stanko.

In the end, while Brest had clearly won four of the five clashes this season against Metz, the Dragonnes offered themselves a mattress of seven goals before the return match, which allows them to approach Sunday's match in a strong position to keep for the fifth consecutive season the title of champion of France.

- Ana Gros alone in the first leg -

"Everything is possible, we are capable of winning 10 goals, we know it, but we will have to fight to reverse the trend," insisted after the first leg the Brest coach Laurent Bezeau, who lives his last moments on the bench of the BBH.

"If we are not able to increase our level of play and our aggressiveness and if Metz plays like this tonight, it will be difficult but we have already shown that we are capable", he added, with spirit the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League against the Messines won 34 to 24 by the Brestoises.

For that, the Slovenian right-back of Brest Ana Gros will have to be a little less alone.

Author of 10 goals in the first leg, she did not receive the usual support from her teammates at the back base (Isabelle Gullden at 1 of 4, Kalidiatou Niakaté at 1 of 6, and Djurdjina Jaukovic at 3 of 8).

"Having to fight", as Laurent Bezeau indicated, is also to take the risk of losing energy in view of the C1 semi-final against Györ, three-time European title holder and all-time favorite, which is scheduled just six days after the final of the French championship.

At the start of the season, while Metz was in the reconstruction phase with several senior players left, including captain and center-half Grâce Zaadi, Metz president Thierry Weizman slipped: "But we have the best coach in the world".

And Emmanuel Mayonnade, distinguished by the International Federation for the year 2019, has succeeded perfectly in the first leg.

It remains to tackle the second half on Sunday in Brittany.

© 2021 AFP