Baudoin: We have to play for an hour again

French champions and former EHF Cup finalists Metz have had a tough start in the Women's EHF Champions League. After undergoing two defeats, at home against Leipzig and last weekend in Sävehof and ahead of this weekend's confrontation with Krim Mercator Metz's left winger Paule Baudoin tells ehfCL.com, why she believes her team has zero points.

ehfCL.com: With two defeats in as many games, what do you make of your EHF Champions League start?

Paule Baudoin: I think we're not used to play for an hour anymore... We've had a hard beginning of the competiton, schedule-wise, because the Champions League began very early. We may have had lost the rhythm of playing twice a week, and this is a rhythm you have to learn, it doesn't come easily. Physically, we're having a hard time coping with it.

ehfCL.com: During your two games against Leipzig and Sävehof, you had some bad moments in the game, that had a huge influence on the final result. How do you explain that?

Paule Baudoin: These two matches were different. Against Leipzig for instance, we had a very bad first half before coming back in the second half. During this game, even if we didn't play well, we only lost by one goal.

In Sävehof, on the contrary, we played very well at the beginning before letting the game go in the second half. Lack of right judgement due to physical exhaustion might be a reason, since we missed a lot of shots...

ehfCL.com: So now, how do you think the rest of the competition will be?

Paule Baudoin: This weekend against Krim we'll have to play for an hour, play a full game. On our first two matches, we've had too many turnovers. And even though our position is not easy at the moment, we can't stop believing.

We have to win the remaining games at home and try to gain points away, even though we know that winning in Slovenia and especially in Germany is not going to be an easy task.

ehfCL.com: Don't you approach your EHF Champions League campaign with too much pressure, since everything seems to be going fine for you in the domestic dompetition winning all six games?

Paule Baudoin: Not everything is going so well in the league. If we win these games, it's especially thanks to our substitutions that our opponents are not able to make. Champions League is a step further, where you play against the best teams in Europe.

When you look at the ranking, you can be happy with our position in the French league, but we're there despite making mistakes during games. In the Champions League, we pay for these mistakes at the highest price.

Further information

Follow the match Metz Handball vs RK Krim Mercator on Sunday, 20 October, at 19:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV