Punished for a poor first half

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto suffered a heavy 31-24 defeat away to Club Cisne Colegio Los Sauces at the Pabellón Municipal dos Deportes on matchday 27 of the División de Honor Plata Masculina.

The match began in the worst possible way for the red-and-whites, with Antonio Capitán receiving an early two-minute suspension. Thanks mainly to saves from former Port goalkeeper Roney Franzini, the home side established their first leads (6-3, 7-4 and 8-5); the latter score prompted the visitors' first timeout in the 13th minute.

Toni Malla's side were unable to take advantage of their numerical superiority. The Galician team's lead had already grown to five goals (12-7), forcing Toni Malla, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto's coach, to call his second timeout in the 22nd minute. To make matters worse, Álvaro del Valle suffered an injury in the final minute of the first half which prevented him from returning to the 40x20. The half-time score was 18-10, the biggest lead of the match.

The second half began with a second two-minute suspension for the home side's defensive pillar, Iván Calvo. Constant unforced errors by the visitors kept the Pontevedra side's lead intact throughout. The exchange of goals after the teams emerged from the dressing room did not suit the red-and-whites. Club Cisne Colegio Los Sauces scored almost exclusively from the central six-metre area, largely because of the non-existent defence in front of them.

The gap even reached +9 (24-15), leaving Toni Malla with no timeouts available in the 42nd minute. Switching to a 5-1 defence and Diego Olba's numerous goals attempted to make the scoreline more respectable, but it ultimately ended 31-24.

With this defeat, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto will once again finish the matchday in fifth place, in the play-off positions. Blendio Sinfín's 25-22 victory over Trops Malaga means the Santander side have extended their lead over the Port side to three points. Meanwhile, this result leaves the gap to the chasing teams (Trops Málaga and Balonmano Alcobendas) at five points in the battle to reach the promotion phase.

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto's next match will once again be away from home. On Saturday 26 April, they will visit Amenabar Zarautz from 17:00 at the Polideportivo Municipal Aritzbatalde.

MATCH DETAILS:

Club Cisne Colegio Los Sauces (31): Bruno Vázquez (1), Xoan Fernández (1), Manuel Lorenzo (2), Iago Costas (5), Víctor Fernández (4), Javier Vázquez (1), Iván Calvo (-), Abián Rodríguez (-), Diego López (1), Daniel Virulegio (3), Mateo Arias (4), Gualther Furtado (5), Carlos Morales (-), Marko Ojeda (3), Alberto Delgado (1), Roney Franzini (-).

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (24):  Ximo Lora (-), Guilherme Leonel (5), Del Valle (-), Olba (8), Nico Rey (-), Daniel Martínez (-), Barceló (2), Arnau Fernández (4), Dusan Trifkovic (1), Gonzalo (-), David García (1), Mario (-), Matheus (2), Capitán (-), Seke (1), Torío (-).

Referees: Pablo San Emeterio and Javier Ariño.

Suspensions: Antonio Capitán, Manuel Lorenzo, Iván Calvo (twice), Mateo Arias, Marko Ojeda and Alberto Delgado received two-minute suspensions, while Marcos Otero and Toni Malla were shown yellow cards.

Score by periods: 3-2, 6-3, 8-5, 9-7, 15-8, 18-20 (half-time); 19-12, 22-14, 24-17, 25-20, 27-22 and 31-24 (full-time).

Match information: Match from matchday 27 of the División de Honor Plata Masculina, played at the Pabellón Municipal dos Deportes.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.