Handball champions assert dominance in opening clash; Cressonnière defeats Château Morange

Cressonnière’s men opened La Réunion’s 2026 handball championship on Friday, September 11, with a 33-24 victory over Château Morange, last season’s finalist, delivering a nine-goal margin that underlined the defending champions’ authority at home.

The match began as a genuine contest. Château Morange, coached by Adrien Arthur, found their rhythm early and kept pace through a competitive first half. The Dionysiens refused to be overrun. But Cressonnière’s depth told in the second period, and the Saint-Andréens pulled away with a surge that settled the outcome well before the final whistle.

Loïc Lambert was the standout performer, proving nearly impossible for Château Morange’s defense to contain. His playmaking and scoring set the tone for that decisive second-half run.

Despite the comfortable scoreline, Cressonnière head coach Karyl Calicharane was not fully satisfied. He described the display as “really not brilliant” in terms of content and execution, noting that his side had already played the previous week and several preseason contests before this opener. He accepted the result, though, for what it was: a home win against the previous season’s finalist, with a nine-goal cushion to show for it.

Brian Doisel explained the shift between halves plainly. “In the first half, we didn’t let the game flow the way it should have,” he said. “But in the second half, we returned to our fundamentals and the machine simply worked.”

For Château Morange, the defeat stings but does not close off the season. Coach Arthur pointed to youth and integration as the key variables, setting a top-four championship finish as a realistic target while keeping other competitions in view, including the Coupe des Clubs Champions de l’Océan Indien and the Coupe de La Réunion scheduled for December. “There are many competitions ahead,” Arthur said. “We have a fairly young team with new players, and it takes time to integrate all of that. We’ve been back for five weeks: that’s both a lot and not enough. But gradually, things will fall into place and everything will sort itself out.”

Among the club’s new arrivals, wingers Dhouamin Baco and Etienne Varuca, both from Saint-Pierre HBC, combined for 14 goals on debut. An encouraging return, even in defeat. Baco kept perspective. “I’m not very satisfied with the result, but it’s normal,” he said. “It’s a new group, it’s only the beginning, and the season is still long. It’s normal that there are some turnovers or mistakes here and there. I’m here to add value to the collective, and we’ll see what comes next. Everything else is just work.”

Elsewhere on opening day, Port HB defeated HBC Est Dionysien, Lasours overcame JS Sainte-Rosienne, JS La Saline edged SC Sainte-Marie, and Saint-Pierre HBC topped JS Bénédictine.

On the women’s side, Cressonnière carry a two-year unbeaten run and a 2025 Nationale 1 title into Saturday evening’s opener against HBF Saint-Denis. The Saint-Andréennes have reshaped their roster significantly, and club president Pierre-Jacques Mounichy has taken over from coach Didier Ranguin. Mounichy is not taking the defending titles for granted. “We’re giving ourselves the means, match after match, to defend our titles,” he said. Whether a rebuilt squad can sustain that standard across a long season is the question that will define Cressonnière’s women’s campaign.