Going for joint top spot in Andalusia

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto will play the postponed ninth round of the Men's Silver Honour Division tomorrow, from 19:00, at the Diego Carrasco Municipal Sports Pavilion against Trops Málaga.

This match should have been played in November, but Málaga requested its postponement from the RFEBM, with a favourable outcome, due to the international commitments of both their coaches at the time (Chispi Vázquez and Micri Rueda) and their player Alberto Castro.

The red-and-whites come into the match on a run of form, having picked up points in each of their last seven regular-league fixtures, with a record of five wins and two draws. Last weekend they managed to scrape a point (28-28) in Santander, away to Blendio Sinfín, in a match that had looked practically lost, as they were four goals down with only five minutes remaining. They are currently fourth in the overall table with eighteen points.

The match is a golden opportunity for the Valencian side. A draw would put them third with nineteen points, while a win would make them joint leaders of the division alongside Cajasol Sevilla BM Proin on twenty points, although they would be virtually top thanks to their superior goal difference so far.

The Andalusians, by contrast, have not made the best possible start. Since the beginning of the competition they have occupied places leading directly to relegation to Primera Nacional. However, in the last round they changed the pattern of four consecutive defeats, winning 28-31 away to one of the promotion contenders, Fundación Agustinos Alicante, after announcing the mutually agreed departure of their coaching staff the previous day. Daniel Ibáñez (coach of the División de Honor youth team), José González Vázquez and Rafa Correa took interim charge of the squad. Those two points have allowed them to breathe slightly easier, moving up to twelfth place (the play-out position) in the table with eight points.

In the build-up, Trops Málaga officially announced Curro Lucena as their new head coach, so tomorrow he will make his debut in charge of the team in front of the blue-and-white supporters. It will be his third spell at the club, which he led to promotion in 2019 to the division in which they currently play. From 2023 until last season he was Quino Soler’s right-hand man and, this season, he had been managing the Primera Nacional reserve team (One Eden Mijas).

As for the most recent head-to-head meetings between the two sides, last season the Puerto Sagunto team beat the southern side both away in the first leg (23-24) and at home in the return fixture (31-27).

Regarding the squad, in May they announced as many as ten departures, including that of one of our two current goalkeepers, Juani Villarreal. In terms of renewals, they managed to retain key players such as experienced goalkeeper Jorge Villamarín, pivot Javi García and former player of ours Nacho Moya. They also made high-quality signings, including Pol Amores in goal; backcourt players Caue Martins and Jacob Díaz; Roberto Muñoz’s return to the club; and Alberto Castro’s return after the season had begun, following the announcement of his departure several months earlier.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.