Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto put up a fight in their first friendly

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto beat GlobalCaja Ciudad Encantada 29-28 in an evenly matched friendly from start to finish against opponents who have made several new signings. In the opening minutes, the red-and-whites were determined to make a good impression in front of their supporters in their first pre-season match at the “Ovni”. The first half began with both sides evenly matched. Sorrentino and Grau were the first to get on the scoresheet, and it was not until the 15th minute that the visitors from Cuenca took a slender two-goal lead (7-9). Attacking chances were converted from the pivot by Ángel Fernández, who received passes from new signing Sasha Dukic. Later, Apelgren, the red-and-whites’ latest signing, came onto the court and raised the tempo of the home side’s play. From the 25th minute onwards, following a Patxi Martí timeout, the red-and-whites turned the score around (15-14) thanks to a strong defence and effective attacking play. The final minutes of the first half were marked by the two suspensions suffered by Fertiberia, but despite this, Patxi’s men managed to recover and go into half-time ahead (17-16), showing good efficiency in both defence and attack. In the second half, the red-and-whites were unable to maintain their lead and were overhauled by Sifre’s attacks (23-24). From the 20th minute onwards, the gap narrowed with Tarrassó’s goals, but the bad news was Ángel Fernández’s injury, which forced him to leave the match. Towards the end, both teams lost possession several times because of the heat, keeping the score very close until the final whistle, when the red-and-whites took their chances and a goal from Grau secured their first pre-season victory (29-28). The outstanding feature was the brilliant performance of the youngest players, who enjoyed valuable minutes, as well as the good showing from the new signings. Ultimately, the team secured an important victory that will give confidence to the new coach and his players. We will have to wait until the next away match, on 23 August against Balonmano Servigroup Benidorm, coached by Fernando Latorre, at 20:00, to enjoy Patxi Martí’s side again. Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Bruixola, Samuel, Sebastiá, Ruiz(1), Grau(9), Apelgren(4), Nebot, Toni Alegre(1), A. Fernández(3), Dukic(1), Moriñigo(4), Tarrassó(5), Lluna(1), Tello, Del Rio and Roque. GlobalCaja Ciudad Encantada: De Hita, Nielfa, Lipovina(5), Pérez Ortiz, Sorrentino(5), Mendoza(2), Sifre(6), Viscovich(1), Renaud(3), López(1), Frade(5), Milosevic(2), and Del Saz. Ruiz, Dukic(3) and Moriñigo were suspended for Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto, while Mendoza and Renaud(2) were suspended for GlobalCaja Ciudad Encantada. Score at five-minute intervals  1-1, 4-5, 7-9, 10-11, 14-14, 17-16 Half-time 18-19, 21-20, 23-24, 25-25, 28-28, 29-28 Full-time Municipal Sports Centre “Ovni”. 600 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.