France off the mark but scope for sentimentality wearing thin

Wednesday’s highlight match in the men’s tournament lived up to expectations as reigning champions France snatched a 26:26 draw at the buzzer against Egypt.

The result will offer some mild relief for the mounting tension in the French team but questions will continue to be asked of their squad selection.

In another nervy beginning, how fitting it felt that one of the most maligned players on this French team over the years was the one to set a positive tone, Vincent Gerard making two big stops to really get the crowd going.

Yahia Omar will be moving to this city and playing alongside a few of the French side right after these games when he joins PSG and he was in the mood to give the locals a taste of what’s to come, scoring four as Egypt took a 7:6 lead.

Nikola Karabatic’s legacy is not up for discussion but his ability to contribute on court for his sixth and final Olympics may well be. Late in the second half, two attempted passes were cleanly intercepted, leading to goals down the other end as Egypt opened up a two-goal lead. Not to be deterred, he popped right back up to score on the next attack, then threw another away.

Egypt began to smell blood and by half-time they held a 15:11 advantage, inspired by Omar’s six goals and nine saves from Mohamed Aly, providing the sting from Egypt’s last line of defence.

The tide turns

Yesterday, Tamara Horacek spoke about the fantastic atmosphere for the French women’s games and offered a slight knowing smile when the contrast to the men’s teams. There is palpable anxiety in the air at these games, tinged with frustration and the occasional burst of joy when things do go well for France.

Those outbursts of joy increased in regularity in the third quarter as France’s defence finally began to click, forcing turnovers and scoring easy goals on the break to draw level at 19:19 on the 42-minute mark.

Normally, this is when you’d expect France to power on and never look back, but this isn’t normal France, and they were counting their lucky stars that Egypt were becoming wasteful with some gilt-edged chances.

That kept France in the game and the mood began to shift. Egypt had a chance to kill off the game with a one-goal lead and possession of the ball with 13 seconds left, but a turnover and one last well-worked play by France, feeding the ball into Ludovic Fabregas for his fifth goal and the all-important equaliser.

A 26:26 draw was probably the fair result and it probably suits both teams. France are on the board, and their Olympic dream stays alive, but one can’t help but think that something drastic has to change if those dreams will live on much longer.