We move up to second place after winning the derby

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto win the Valencian Community derby against Balonmano Servigroup Benidorm (26-23), in the postponed match corresponding to the fourteenth round of the Men’s Silver Honour Division, played at the Pabellón Port de Sagunt.

In the first minute of the match, Juani Villarreal, who had started on the bench, came on in the 40×20 to save a penalty from Pol Roy. This action, together with some other good defensive work and counter-attacks, opened up the first gaps in the home side’s favour, with scores of 3-0 and 4-1 in the first five minutes. However, the visitors reacted quickly and turned the scoreboard around (4-7), helped by Samuel Ibáñez’s saves, which kept the Portuarios stuck on four goals for a long spell, and by Juan Carlos Sempere’s attacking direction. In response, Sergio Mallo called his first timeout in the 13th minute, seeking solutions to the lack of ideas in attack and defensive permissiveness.

After the break, Dani Martínez tried to match the opposing goalkeeper’s save percentage and, together with a couple of inaccuracies from the Benidorm players, kept them stuck on seven goals, allowing the home side to reduce the deficit (6-7). Nevertheless, the Alicante side opened up +2 leads again (6-8 and 7-9) thanks to greater ease in finding the net, while the Valencians struggled more and were repeatedly warned for passive play. After another change in control, with the home side leading 10-9 in the 23rd minute, the match became an exchange of goals between wingers Hugo Vila and Carlos Martín. The latter’s suspension in the 28th minute allowed Alejandro Cutanda’s side to prepare one final attack with a numerical advantage, leaving the score at 13-13 at half-time.

The visitors began the second half with a few seconds of numerical superiority, which quickly enabled them to put together a 0-2 run. The Portuarios also failed to find the net until the 36th minute. Ramiro Martínez’s suspension in the 37th minute helped reduce the difference to a single goal after a 2-1 home run. The Alicante side had three consecutive possessions to extend their lead to +3, but wasted all three. At 18-20, with the second half halfway through, Sergio Mallo called his second timeout in search of a comeback in the closing stages.

The break had the desired effect and the contest was level just two minutes later (20-20). Another suspension forced Alejandro Cutanda to call a timeout with just over ten minutes remaining, and Álex Pozzer was then suspended for the opposing side. Amid the chaos, the Valencians moved in front after many minutes, stringing together 22-21, 23-21 and 24-21 after the 50th minute, with Javier Olivares enjoying his best spell on a handball court since returning from injury. This latest score prompted another timeout from Alejandro Cutanda as he saw the match slipping away. In the closing stages, a decisive save by Dani Martínez secured the two points for the home side, with the final score 26-23.

With this victory, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto move up to second place in the table with 26 points, overtaking Fundación Agustinos Alicante and UBU San Pablo Burgos 2031, the latter having played one fewer match, specifically the one from the sixteenth round and precisely against today’s opponents.

The next fixture will be away to the league’s bottom side, Club Balonmano Alcobendas, on Saturday from 18:30 at the Pabellón de Los Sueños.

MATCH DETAILS:

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (26): Juani Villarreal (-), Marcos Castañeda (-), Olivares (3), Paco Ruiz (-), Dani Martínez (-), Pozzer (4), Arnau Fernández (3), Gonzalo (3), David García (2), Matheus de Novais (2), Macrino Pérez (-), Serradilla (-), Capitán (2), Zungri (3), Carlos Martín (4), Teixidor (-).

Balonmano Servigroup Benidorm (23): Samuel Ibáñez (-), Uros Ostojic (-), Pablo Vainstein (2), Pol Roy (3), Daniil Zhukov (2), Modi Abdoula (1), Carlos Fernández (-), David Mach (-), Leo Alonso (-), Juan Carlos Sempere (7), Ramiro Martínez (2), Hugo Vila (3), Diego Pérez (3), Bryan Paz (-), Agustín Soria (-).

Referees: Óscar García Camino and Alfredo Arcos Adeva.

Suspensions: Alex Pozzer, Carlos Martín, Pablo Vainstein and Ramiro Martínez, each for two minutes.

Score progression: 4-2, 4-5, 5-7, 7-9, 10-10, 13-13 (half-time); 13-15, 17-18, 18-20, 20-21, 24-21 and 26-23 (full-time).

Match events: Match from the postponed 14th round of the Men’s Silver Honour Division, suspended in December because of AEMET’s red alert, played at the Pabellón Port de Sagunt in front of approximately 1,400 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.