Barcelona finish on top, but Sahel fight bravely
FC Barcelona - Etoile Sportive du Sahel 34:27 (11:12)
FC Barcelona took their third victory in their third preliminary round match of the IHF Super Globe in Doha, Qatar, and finished on top of group B. In the crucial duel for the final ranking against the before also unbeaten team of Etoile Sportive du Sahel, the Catalans had to give all they can on Tuesday (27 August) to remain with a clear spot.
The finally clear result of 34:27 does not reflect the run-down of the match, as the Tunisians had not only been on eye level but led until minute 40. Both teams had been qualified for the semi-finals before the direct duel - and now wait which teams they will face on Thursday. The decisions in group A will be taken later today - and still three teams (Hamburg, Al-Sadd and El-Jaish) can hope for clinching the berth for the next stage. The Tunisian side played a great first half and made their huge number of spectators go crazy on the tribunes. Their songs energized Sahel - and the team of coach Sami Saidi showed a highly strong defence in the first 30 minutes, including an extra-ordinary performance of goalkeeper Mohamed Tajouri. Saidi had analyzed the attack play of the Catalans perfectly - and his players closed the gaps in their middle block and caused hectic and turnovers of their competitors. Additionally Nidhal Amri was unstoppable by the Barca defence, scoring four times before the break. Like in the matches before, Barca needed some time to find its rhythm and pace. After a 4:3 lead of the Europeans, Sahel took over the control and forged ahead to a three goal margin for the first time at 9:6 despite an early time-out of Barca coach Xavi Pascual.
The match became a highly intense defence battle of two teams which gave 100 percent. But in the final stages of the first half, Barcelona managed to reduce the backlog to only one goal at halftime though they had missed a huge number of chances before. Sahel continued playing their powerful and solid rock defence initially after the break, putting enormous pressure on the Barcelona attackers. But the seven times Champions League winner had adapted their defending too to a highly offensive one to stop the Sahel back court shooters. And this tactical change panned out. Having more quality options to change and playing more concentrated, Barcelona turned the match after a 13:15 backlog to a 21:18 advance in minute 44 by a 8:3 series and caused a time-out of the African club champions, who were running out of power in the final stages. And when team captain Victor Tomas finished his triple counter-attack strike for 24:19 in minute 48, finally the resistance of the brave fighting Tunisians was broken and the deal was sealed. Barcelona casted off their opponent easily and was away by nine goals for the first time at 29:20. Though the match had finally been decided the final minutes were imprinted by tough actions and a huge number of suspensions.
