Defensive frailties exposed in Montpellier

I don't know which coach will be happier after Saturday's match of the week. Sure, RNL came away with the two points from the game, but they played against a severely depleted MAHB team and Jacobson will not be happy at some of the defending on show from his team.

Montpellier, for their part were shorn of a complete back line. The seemingly interminable injury to Mackovsek rumbles on and his compatriot in the right back position, Dolonec, was also out. But perhaps the biggest issue was the short term injury to the Argentine wizard, Diego Simonet. His absence not only majorly dented Montpellier's chances in attack, but also robbed us of the chance to see him in action. 

Unable to defend

Canayer was like a circus juggler as he tried time and again to keep all the balls in the air, just to have seven players on the court in a position that might suit them. This led to at least four different players taking the playmaker role and the entire team, seemingly, shifting from pillar to post as they tried to find some rhythm to their game. 

They never did. I pointed out that their defence is a serious issue for them and it was plainly evident to all and sundry that they don't actually have one. Tej cannot defend and Ekdahl left him, Gaber and a lacklustre Laluska regularly standing in his wake. Schmid played long lateral passes that found a teammate who seemed to be in metres of space.

RNL pinged the ball around with such consummate ease that every time they attacked the looked like they could score. It wasn't that Montpellier didn't defend, they couldn't defend, and the centre block of Gaber and Laluska looked slow and ponderous. The latter was replaced, never to take the court again and Tej didnt do much better. 

A change from The French to a more active 5-1 reaped some benefit for a short time, but eventually the German team exploited that and started racking up the scores again. When Petersson was replaced by Reinkind in the second half, one pass, one shot, and he scored time and again. 

Gensheimer and Tej had their own little war of words going on, and Myrhol on the line got some punishment, but all his efforts just opened spaces for other teammates to shine. Lots of penalties dispatched by Gajic and Gensheimer showed no little skill and each team also got 5x2 min suspensions. But it wasn't a dirty game, it just had no flow. The Germans tried to put their opponents to bed, but just couldn't shake them off. 

Structureless attack reliant on moments of brilliance

How should I put this generously? RNL could have scored 40 goals and truly it was a lack of concentration that allowed MAHB to even believe they might get a result that had looked beyond them from after about ten minutes. 

Montpellier are blessed with some amazingly gifted players. Much as their defence is a shambles, their attack looks quite messy also. Lots of interplay, movement and switching doesn't lead to open spaces or one on one battles, but rather an instinctive shot scoring a goal.

Kavticnik, Grebille and the incredible Guigou found a shot or space where there was none and kept their team in touch. Kavticnik and Tej combined well at times particularly when goals were hard to come by in the first half. 

A sublime reverse pass from Guigou to Tej brought the arena to its feet and this was followed by a Kempa from Saidani to Grebille who found himself almost at right wing to score. They really have some skill, of that there is no doubt, but the "pell-mell" nature of their attack shows no structure. Having said that, they scored 29 goals, at least ten of those after passive play had almost been called on them. Somehow, having done the hard work, RNL allowed them to score. A lack of concentration from the Germans or instinctive attack play, I will let you make up your own mind. 

Showdown in Celje

The best way I can describe this game, which could have been a ten goal victory for the Germans, is like you are driving your car in traffic. You are stopped bumper to bumper and suddenly some space opens up. You hit the gas, explode away only to meet more traffic down the road. This was RNL yesterday. You always felt they could pull away, but never quite did.

So in the end, Jacobson got his win, but won't be happy with aspects of the game. Canayer will scratch his head about his teams defending, but will be happy that his young players gave a good account of themselves. 

The real test of their credentials comes next week in Celje. Any result there will give them a great chance to reach the knockout phase. The fact that so many Slovenians are returning home gives the match a certain magic and once again the result is up in the air.

It may have been a long day in Languedoc, but it could be a celebration in Celje.