Menen beat Tourcoing 3:1 in a club friendly on Friday. The match took place on 26 September at the hosts' venue. Three sets to one tells you the pattern was clear from the start.
By then, Menen had been through a mixed run of results. They lost 0:3 to Lokerse Aalst in mid-April, then bounced back with a 3:1 win over the same side two days later. A 1:3 defeat followed before a 3:2 victory against Massy and another 3:2 win over Waregem at the end of last year.
Tourcoing's recent form read differently. A heavy 0:3 loss to Sete opened their last five, followed by a 2:3 narrow defeat. They did manage a 3:0 win over Nice Volleyball in February, but then lost 2:3 to Cannes and 1:3 to Chaumont.
And here's the thing — this friendly didn't change much in either side's standing. No league position to shift, no points to gain. What it showed was Menen closing out a match more cleanly than some of their recent outings suggested they would.
To be fair, Tourcoing had found their rhythm in that February win over Nice. But three losses in that five-game span including this one tells a different story. Menen held their nerve where they'd slipped before.
