Emmanuel Mayonnade's players, beaten in the semi-finals on Saturday by the Norwegians of Kristiansand (33-27), thus climb to the C1 podium, which they failed to do in 2019 after a frustrating first Final 4 concluded with two one-goal defeats against Rostov in the semi-finals and Kristiansand in the small final.
On Sunday, Méline Nocandy's teammates took the match by the right end, under the impetus of Grace Zaadi, to escape fairly quickly to score (7-2).
The six-goal lead when joining the locker room at the break (18-12), were kept until the end (32-26), the Messines resisting the storm very well Henny Reistad, well muzzled in the first period (three achievements) but who scored seven goals in the second.
"The story ends extremely well"
"I'm very happy and very satisfied with the image we've shown. (...) It's more like the Metz Handball we've seen this season and it's not necessarily the one we saw yesterday", appreciated Zaadi, Dragonnes' top scorer with seven goals, well supported by the performances of Tamara Horacek and Orlane Kanor.
Zaadi, who hopes that Metz "will reach the final" the "next time", had returned to his training club Metz to finish the season, after the exclusion of his Russian club of Rostov following the invasion of the Ukraine by the Russian army.
Grace Zaadi struggles to score against Esbjerg despite Marit Frafjord and Henny Reistad, in Final 4 of the Champions League in Budapest, June 5, 2022 Attila KISBENEDEK AFP
"The story ends extremely well. This medal means a lot," said the half-center of the France team, who will leave for an adventure abroad next season, the destination of which has not yet been determined. revealed.
After a Coupe de France final in Bercy in six days against Besançon, Metz will experience a renewal of staff this summer, with the departures in particular of Méline Nocandy in Paris 92 and Orlane Kanor in Rapid Bucharest.
© 2022 AFP