Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto unable to overcome giant Naturhouse La Rioja

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto lost 24-33 this afternoon against Naturhouse La Rioja in a match in which Fertiberia dominated the opening stages, but could not pull off a surprise against a formidable Naturhouse La Rioja.

The first half began at a frantic pace, with a save from Bruixola followed by Grau’s quick response with a goal. Attacking moves continued in quick succession, with the red-and-white side working hard in defence to stop Garabaya. Naturhouse La Rioja, meanwhile, failed to take advantage of their numerical superiority after Plaza was sent off. Halfway through the first period, Fertiberia did not back down and, supported by their fans, moved ahead on the scoreboard (9-7) against a highly competitive Naturhouse La Rioja. Jota’s men did not take long to react after falling behind and moved ahead (9-10), prompting Patxi Martí to call a time-out to halt the visitors’ momentum. In the closing stages, the La Rioja giants awoke from their slumber, relying on shooting from distance, and with Malasinskas’ brilliant return they went into the dressing rooms with a four-goal lead (13-17).

The second half began with the same pattern as the first, with a determined but erratic Fertiberia making mistakes in the final passes, which were exploited by Naturhouse La Rioja’s wingers to launch fast counter-attacks. The red-and-white side gradually saw the visitors pull away, forcing Patxi Martí to call a time-out in search of a reaction from his players, who could not beat Jorge Martínez in goal. The La Rioja side managed their advantage perfectly and were not caught out by the red-and-whites, although a 5-1 run made the foundations of the visiting team tremble. Ultimately, Fertiberia saw all their chances disappear thanks to Jorge Martínez’s excellent goalkeeping, which kept his team in the game and allowed them to take both points back to La Rioja (24-33).

Fertiberia’s next fixture will be the 27th round of the ASOBAL league against BM Huesca next Saturday, 26 April, from 20:00.

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Bruixola, Samuel, Marc Andreu, Rubén Ruiz (1), Moriñigo, Tarrasó (6), Lluna, Berrios (2), Apelgren (5), Grau (3), Plaza (4), Toni Alegre, Nebot, Fernández, Roque and Dimitrievski (3).

Naturhouse La Rioja:Jorge Martínez, Miguel Sánchez, Thiagus (3), Malasinskas (5), Velasco, Tioumentsev (5), Aguinagalde, Patrianova (1), Garabaya (1), Rial, Tolmos, Masachs (5), Pedro Rodríguez (2), Fernández (4), Romero (4) and Eilert (3).

Grau, Plaza, Nebot and Fernández were excluded for Fertibeira BM Puerto Sagunto; and Miguel Sánchez, Thiagus, Velasco, Garabaya and Masachs for Naturhouse La Rioja.

Score at five-minute intervals:  3-3, 6-5, 8-7, 9-11, 12-15, 13-17 Half-time 15-19, 16-22, 19-25, 22-26, 23-30, 24-33 Full-time. Municipal Internúcleos Sports Centre “Ovni”. 1,400 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.