PSG Handball secure emphatic win in first match

In their first official match, PSG Handball secured an emphatic 34:23 victory over Cesson-Rennes in the French League.

More than 3,500 spectators watched the match, interested to see if the new so-called Dream Team woud live up to expectations. Having beaten Cesson by just one goal a week earlier, PSG stepped up several gears to take a crucial victory.

Paris were a little hesitant in the first half and only led 15-12 at half time with many missed shots and lost balls. But the second half saw them put on a great demonstration of skills, and they scored ten goals more than their helpless opponents.

PSG's top stars, Luc Abalo and Mikkel Hansen, were on top form and scored eight goals and five goals respectively.

From the players to the president, everyone at PSG knows that there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve their stated aim of reaching the VELUX EHF Champions League next season. But even bigger than that target, the management at the club want to create a set-up similar to that of FC Barcelona, with several different sports operating under the same banner.

PSG have the biggest budget of any teams in the French League at 9.2 million EUR, a sum which easily puts them in the top ten in Europe. And by recruiting some of the best players in the world, the management could just achieve that aim.

Speaking about the first official victory, Philippe Gardent said: "We haven't known each other for a long time, but I've known first games a lot worse than this one. I think it's quite interesting, we improved even between the two halves. The first period saw us quite hesitant, whereas in the second we were a lot more effective in defence, so we could score some easy goals with fast-breaks."