Alser Puerto Sagunto stands up to league leaders Atlético de Madrid

BM. Atlético Madriddefeated Alser Puerto Sagunto 27–39 in a match that began evenly contested, but the league leaders recovered and pulled away on the scoreboard until the final whistle.

In the opening minutes, the score was level at 2–2 until the Madrid side moved ahead thanks to counter-attacking goals and Hombrados’ goalkeeping. From the 15th minute onwards, the red-and-white side reduced the deficit thanks to a compact defence and goals from Moya, Sifre, Cid and Stefanovic, among others. In response, Dujshebaev called a timeout, which sparked a reaction from his team, and the first half ended with the score at 12–16.

In the second half, the red-and-white side started at a good pace. Nacho Moya led their attacking play, while Bruixola stopped the opposition’s attacks four times in a row. However, from the 40th minute onwards, the Asobal leaders moved ahead with numerous counter-attacks and Abalo’s clinical finishing. Adding the fatigue that affected the red-and-white side, the result was a comfortable victory for BM. Atlético Madrid. Nevertheless, the hosts’ lack of available players compared with Talan Dujshebaev’s deep bench proved too great a handicap for their comeback.

The debut of academy player Toni Alegre in the 15th minute of the first half is worth highlighting, as he put in a good performance. Moreover, despite this week’s pessimism, the Ovni was packed and, as always, cheered the team on with chants of “yes, we can”.

In short, Alser reach the ninth round playing better than their league position suggests. They will have to wait until their next home match against Quabit BM Guadalajara on Sunday the 13th at 20:45, broadcast on Teledeporte, to continue picking up points against a direct rival and thereby seek to avoid relegation.

Alser Puerto Sagunto: Bruixola, Peg, Samuel, Moya del Saz, Ruiz (4), Sorrentino (2), Moya (8), Sifré (4), Cid (2), A. Fernández (3), Prendes (2), Toni Alegre, Stefanovic (2).

BM At. Madrid: Hombrados, Sterbik, Edu (4), Källman (6), Guardiola (2), Davis (6), Parrondo (2), Abalo (3), Chema, Cañellas (7), Jurkiewicz (1), Entrerrios (2), Dinart, Lazarov (6).

Referees: Jorge Escudero Santiuste and Jesús Escudero Santiuste (Cantabrian Referees’ Association). Prendes and Cid were excluded for Alser Puerto Sagunto, and Entrerrios (2) and Dinart for BM At. Madrid.

Score at five-minute intervals: 1–2, 3–8, 5–9, 8–10, 11–13, 12–16 Half-time; 16–20, 19–24, 21–28, 22–32, 26–36, 27–39. Full-time

Municipal Sports Centre. 1,500 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.