Besançon lost 28:32 to US Créteil in the Pro League on Thursday evening, the first fixture of the season for both sides. The visitors saw the game out after a competitive first half, and here's the thing — you could feel the difference in experience between the two squads from the opening whistle.
Créteil came into this match having won three of their last five games, including a comfortable 35:29 victory over Cherbourg on 30 August. Besançon's recent form was mixed, with losses to Sarrebourg and Cherbourg among their last results. By then, the away side looked like the more settled outfit.
We had backed the visitors at 78 per cent confidence before kickoff, and the prediction came through without drama. Créteil found a way back into it when Besançon pressed too high, and the old head settled them down in the final quarter. The visitors held their nerve when it mattered.
Both teams sit on zero games, zero points in the Pro League table — the season has barely begun, so there's not much to read into positions yet. What matters is what happened on the floor: Créteil took the lead around the twenty-minute mark and never looked back. Besançon talked themselves into trouble with too many risks in attack.
The four-goal margin tells you everything about how this one went. Besançon had their chances but couldn't convert them when the pressure was on. Créteil were clinical when it counted, and that's what separates the teams who know how to win from those still finding their rhythm.