The first leg of Ligue A volleyball turned to the advantage of Montpellier, this Saturday, May 7 at the Grenon hall in Tours. The TVB, on its ground, went up two sets but could not face anything against the control of the Héraultais in the tie-break. 3 sets to 2 for Montpellier. “Losing at home, at home, is a bit frustrating (…) we paid dearly for our faults” says Touraine captain Zeljko Coric. “But we accept it, because it’s a final, where Montpellier deserves its place just like us.“All is not lost for the TVB but it has complicated the task: victory in Montpellier next Wednesday, in match 2, is now mandatory to still dream of the title.
“A lot of nervousness” for TVB coach Marcelo Fronkowiack
At the end of the meeting, TVB coach Marcelo Fronkowiack did not fail to greet the opponent from Montpellier, “a great team” but he regretted the mistakes that cost the victory to his players. “There was a lot of nervousness, also a resemblance between the two teams: the first two sets, one dominates, the next two sets, the other dominates. We are sad, above all, about the way we ended the tie-break. There are things to fix, to improve. I hope we can manage [mercredi] the little stupid things we did.” What points will Montpellier need to improve for Game 2? “You have to be better in attack and much more regular in the service“replies the coach.
Pierre Derouillon “irritated” by the collective performance
Pierre Derouillon admits it, he does not like “react hot.“When we hand him the microphone a few minutes after the end of the game, the TVB receiver-attacker struggles a bit for his words. We can feel his frustration.”I’m not disappointed, I’m pissed offhe said.We were inconsistent in terms of desire. We are consistent, very good, in the 3rd and 4th set. In the first two, we are non-existent (…) in the 5th, we start badly and chasing after the score is too complicated.“No question of rehashing, he projects himself on Wednesday, in Montpellier, hoping for a victory for the Touraine public. “He never lets go of us, I hope we will offer him a match number 3, he deserves it… and so do we.“
The broken voice, the coach of Montpellier “proud”
Olivier Lecat, the Montpellier coach, had a scratchy voice at the end of the match. In a constantly noisy Grenon room, difficult to be heard by its players, who weren’t troubled by a hostile crowd, especially in the fifth set. “I am proud of what we are doing, of what they are doing (…) what a pleasure to coach this team and to play like that! It’s all about a small detail. When you think you have the beast in your hand, that you are five points ahead, then five minutes later you find yourself only one point ahead, you have to stay calm. For him, what made the difference was the late game managementin which we felt the fatigue of both teams. “We managed intelligently in the 4th set, we saw that it was going a little lollipops, suddenly we brought in new blood who scored points.”