With the start of the season barely behind us, Les Rouge et Bleu already seem to have hit their stride. The matches are coming thick and fast, and the victories are also starting to pile up. After Saint-Raphaël in the previous league match (25-33), then Pelister in the Champions League on Thursday (33-27), Paris were looking for a third consecutive victory in a week. Thursday's match against the Macedonians was intense, and Sunday's match against Nîmes looked to be equally difficult - if not more so.
Matches against Nîmes at Coubertin are often high-scoring affairs, and this dynamic seemed set to continue as the opening minutes provided an intense spectacle. Jannick Green was particularly decisive in all areas of the game, picking out fellow Dane Sindre Heldal for his first goal at Coubertin but also denying French international Guéric Vincent effort from the penalty line (8': 6-4).
With four goals in the first ten minutes, Elohim Prandi continued the fine form he showed against Pelister in midweek (11 goals). However, Nîmes were determined to redouble their intensity in an effort to contain the Bison, and duly called the first time-out of the match (13': 9-6). The capital club was clearly in control in the first half and even managed to keep USAM at bay despite a period of numerical inferiority (21': 13-10).
As half-time approached, the Parisians refused to let fatigue disrupt their rhythm. Already in fine form, Mateo Maras scored a splendid goal, which was greeted with ovations from the Rouge et Bleu supporters who had packed Coubertin (27': 16-13). However, Stefan Madsen's men, guilty of several technical fouls, saw their opponents reduce the gap just before the break (30' minute: 18-17).
The restart proved to be rather disjointed on both sides, with Nîmes following Paris in racking up the fouls. The capital club proved pitiless from the penalty line and duly regained a comfortable lead (37': 22-18). The Rouge et Bleu also knew what they were doing going forward. Following a turnover by Nîmes, Elohim Prandi broke and made no mistake s he fired into an empty goal. It was the sixth goal of the day for our left-back, but more importantly, it was his 1,000th career goal in the French top flight (42': 25-20).
Despite having been in serious difficulty since the restart, Nîmes were far from done. Flawless since the start of the season, Wesley Pardin gained momentum in the second half, making a tenth save. On top of that, the visiting 'keeper effectively revived the end of the match by initiating several counter-attacks that his attacking colleagues duly converted (50': 28-26).
As against Pelister a few days ago, Paris had to fight until the end to secure the two points and, once again, Stefan Madsen's men showed their experience and professionalism. Jannick Green won his duel with Jean-Jacques Acquevillo at the best possible moment (55': 29-26). Under pressure in the final minutes, the capital club prevailed after a hard-fought battle (60': 31-29). The Parisians thus joined Montpellier, the only other team with a perfect record so far, at the top of the league table at the end of Matchday 3.
After a week punctuated by two home wins, Paris are preparing for a long week away from home. On Thursday, the capital club will travel to Hungary to take on Szeged, the team that knocked them out in last season's play-offs. Throw-off for this eagerly awaited match is at 18:45! Finally, Stefan Madsen's men will return to league action at 17:00 on Sunday with a trip to Aix to conclude Matchday 4.
