Metz take the spoils against Kastamonu
The French side were strong and confident against Kastamonu and, thanks to the wings of Bruna de Paula and Chloé Valentini, claimed second position in group B. Metz imposed their rhythm and style of play from the first minute and even though Kastamonu came close a few times, Metz made sure in the second half to gain a significant and decisive lead.
Metz Handball (FRA) vs Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK (TUR) 35:24 (18:14)
- Metz had an early 7:2 lead after a four-goal run forcing Kastamonu to use a team time out
- the Turkish side were pushing hard and with a few good saves by Merve Durdu and nice goals from the line from Katarina Jezic, Kastamonu were trailing by only two goals
- the home team started to play more aggressively and speed things up to get back to a four-goal lead by half time
- Metz hit a ten-goal lead five minutes before the end of the match (32:22) putting the finishing touches on their performance
- Monua Chebbah delivered a good performance for Kastamonu scoring seven times but it was not enough to make a difference
- Bruna de Paula was the top scorer for Metz with seven goals and goalkeepers Hatadou Sako and Camille Depuiset together had a 44.1% save efficiency
Goalkeeping duo for the win
Hatadou Sako and Camille Depuiset really were on fire tonight leaving the Kastamonu players helpless. Depuiset saved eight balls with an efficiency of 36.36% helping her team to gain the first lead in the match. Sako continued the same work as she entered between the posts, making save after save in the second half. Sako added another 11 saves at an astonishing 52.38% save efficiency. It just goes to show the importance of goalkeepers!
We worked a lot to be ready, we are happy because we won but we have to be better and work harder. We have to accept this kind of game but now we have to be focus for the next games.
