Defeat in Antequera with minds focused on Ciudad Real

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto were defeated 31-27 today away to Balonmano Dólmenes Antequera at the Fernando Argüelles Municipal Pavilion, in what was the final round of the regular season of the Men’s División de Honor Plata.

 

The match began awkwardly for the red-and-whites, with forced changes due to physical problems for Guilherme Leonel and David García. In the first five minutes, the home side established their first lead at 4-1. In attack, Arnau Fernández stood out, scoring three of the visitors’ first six goals. The visitors were unable to close the gap, largely because of poor management of numerical advantages.

 

The Andalusian side’s constant goals from the pivot area forced Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto coach Toni Malla to call the first time-out of the match in the 16th minute. Balonmano Dólmenes Antequera’s biggest lead came just two minutes later at +5 (11-6). The Valencians’ attempted comeback to 11-9, mainly thanks to Mario Rodríguez’s saves, proved to be an illusion, as the Málaga side restored their maximum lead (14-9), prompting another time-out from Toni Malla. This pause narrowed the gap slightly, with the half-time score 15-12.

 

The second half began with an exchange of goals between the two sides. Although the problems defending the central area persisted, goals from an in-form Dusan Trifkovic kept Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto’s hopes of turning the score around alive. Toni Malla called his final time-out in the 45th minute.

 

Balonmano Dólmenes Antequera’s largest lead came after the 50-minute mark at +7 (29-22). This was compounded by a suspension for Guilherme Leonel, which proved decisive in tipping the balance. The match ended 31-27. The only positive was that every squad player took part, apart from Dani Martínez and Antonio Capitán, the latter not selected.

 

Following Horneo EÓN Alicante’s 35-32 victory over UBU San Pablo Burgos and ID Energy Caserío Ciudad Real’s 35-30 win against Blendio Sinfín, the promotion phase to the Liga Plenitude Asobal, to be played next weekend, will take place in Ciudad Real, where Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto will face the hosts in the semi-finals.

  MATCH DETAILS:  Balonmano Dólmenes Antequera (31):  José María Martín (-), Antonio Pérez (1), Nacho del Castillo (5), Raúl Morales (6), Gustavo Ariel Delgado (5), Agustín Vidal (-), Fernando Moreno (-), Fernando Torres (-), Javier Ariño (-), Cristóbal Ortega (4), Isaac García (3), Jacob Díaz (2), Lorenzo Ruiz (-), Jeremy Figueredo (2), José Javier Abad (2), Aitor Gómez (1).   Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (27): Ximo (1), Guilherme Leonel (1), Del Valle (2), Olba (3), Nico Rey (1), Daniel Martínez (-), Álex Plaza (4), Barceló (-), Arnau Fernández (5), Dusan Trifkovic (2), Gonzalo (2), David García (-), Mario (-), Matheus (3), Seke (3), Torío (-).   Referees: Beatriz del Valle Encuentra and Patricia del Valle Encuentra.   Suspensions: Jacob Díaz, Lorenzo Ruiz, Seke Gallart, Gustavo Ariel Delgado, Joaquín Barceló, Fernando Moreno, Guilherme Leonel, Isaac García and Antonio Pérez, each serving two minutes.   Score progression: 4-1, 5-3, 8-6, 11-8, 14-9, 15-12 (half-time); 19-15, 20-17, 24-20, 27-22, 30-25 and 31-27 (full-time).   Incidents: Match in the 30th round of the Men’s División de Honor Plata, played at the Fernando Argüelles Municipal Pavilion.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.