Paris caught on the buzzer by Pelister
Handball•
On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball conceded a draw in the dying moments of their match against Pelister (34-34) on EHF Champions League Matchday 13.
A week after securing their place in the play-offs thanks to a narrow victory over Szeged (29-28), Les Rouge et Bleu were back on the road on Wednesday for the penultimate matchday of the EHF Champions League group stage. Against Pelister, Stefan Madsen's men were aiming for a third consecutive victory on the continental stage. A win would have seen them move into fourth place, occupied by Szeged, ahead of the Hungarian side's clash with GOG on Thursday evening.
To do so, they needed to take Pelister seriously. Although they has been eliminated from the play-offs after their draw with GOG in Denmark last week, the Macedonians were looking to cause an upset in their final European home game. As is often the case, the Boro Čurlevski Hall was sold out and the Bitola fans were cheering loudly to spur their team on.
On the court, however, it was our Parisians who took the lead. Fighting tooth and nail in the opening minutes, Pelister struggled to keep up with the pace set by the capital club and suffered in particular at the hands of Elohim Prandi, who scored three superb goals in just ten minutes (10': 6-8). After a brief dip, which was halted by Stefan Madsen's first time-out, Les Rouge et Bleu resumed their forward march and even managed to widen the gap thanks to some outstanding attacking play (21': 10-14).
As the break approached, eight Parisian players had already found the back of the net. In addition to Elohim, other capital club stars also managed to shine. A few days after reaching the 400-goal mark with Les Rouge et Bleu, Yahia Omar continued his excellent start to the year with four strikes. Kamil Syprzak was not to be outdone, as his double just before the break allowed Paris to take a three-goal lead before heading into the dressing room (30': 15-18).
Although Paris were on top at the end of the first half, Pelister returned to the court with greater determination. With a sharper attack and commanding defence, the Macedonians immediately closed the gap (33': 18-18). However, Les Rouge et Bleu showed great spirit to put three unanswered goals past their opponents, despite being a man down (36': 18-21)!
However, it wasn't enough to put them out of reach. Spurred on by a frenzied crowd, Pelister once again closed the gap at the start of the final quarter (46': 26-26). Despite some good opportunities, the Parisians were repeatedly thwarted by Saeid Heidaridad and saw the home side take the lead for the first time in the match as they entered what promised to be a nail-biting final ten minutes (51': 29-27).
Stefan Madsen's timeout allowed Paris to regain their composure at the best possible moment. Thanks to two consecutive interceptions, Sebastian Karlsson and Wallem Peleka managed to restore the capital club's lead, but Pelister remained in touch (53': 29-30). Shortly afterwards, the Macedonians found themselves a man down. Paris took advantage of this to increase the tempo and regained a one-goal lead thanks to a ninth goal from a Yahia Omar in imperious form (56': 30-32). However, the Macedonians were far from giving up and managed to equalise at the buzzer to deny the capital club a precious victory (60': 34-34).
Les Rouge et Bleu will conclude this Champions League group stage with a clash against Magdeburg at Coubertin next Wednesday. The Parisians will need your support to overcome the defending champions, who remain unbeaten in this European campaign. Before that, the capital club will have an important away trip to Montpellier in Liqui Moly StarLigue Matchday 19 action on Sunday.
Yahia Omar: ten goals, Kamil Syprzak: six goals, Elohim Prandi: five goals, Sebastian Karlsson, Mathieu Grébille: three goals, Luc Steins, Ferran Solé: two goals, Mateo Maras, Sindre Heldal, Wallem Peleka: one goal. Jannick Green: four saves, Mikkel Lovkvist: one save.