Controlling emotions before second leg

H.A.C. Handball of France celebrated a massive nine-goal victory in Antalya last weekend (Sunday 6 May) and therefore have the best cards to win the Challenge Cup title against Turkish club Muratpaşa Belediyesi.

Despite winning away, coach Frédéric Bougeant of the Le Havre-based club warns his players in an interview with the French Handball Federation before Saturday's return tie. "The first leg tie has left its mark," said the coach. "In the return clash, the key will be to successfully manage those five or six players that were dominant in this victory. It will be imperative to repeat the high level game instilled by these girls. We must not relax for a minute, as everything can change very quickly and turn bad for us."

The H.A.C. coach hadn`t expected such a clear win in the first leg. "It was a nice surprise to win so clearly. We never imagined that we’d create such a big gap to the opponents. Our concern was based on the inability to overcome our inconstancy in away duels. This has been a major problem this season."

The trainer added: "We can certainly say that we overcame that hurdle, with 36 goals scored! This great match will remain a rare and exceptional performance against a team that develops its handball game plan quickly and comfortably, using wide open spaces." 

In Bougeant's opinion, collectiveness and team play will be the key for success in the home match: "The team could have easily imploded in the last quarter, as our girls went through a little slump mentally and physically. The Turkish team could have reduced the gap, but our players didn't allow them to do that. We knew how to recover and to sign off our best away game this season."

See the original article at ff-handball.org HERE.