Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto endure the Palau ordeal

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto lost 43–20 this afternoon against FC Barcelona, in a very one-sided match where the Catalans took the easy route to remain unbeaten in the league. The first half began with the Catalans making a strong start and Ariño scoring three goals from the wing. After a few minutes, Patxi Martí called a timeout after the red-and-whites' poor start. The Valencians rushed their attacks and could do nothing in defence to stop shots from Saubich and Ariño on the wings. Midway through the first half, FC Barcelona had already built a considerable lead (12–3), and Patxi Martí's men could do nothing to stop the flow of goals. The first half followed expectations: the home side were a gear above, were very accurate in attack and Saric saved several attempts from the red-and-whites. Xavi Pascual's side eventually went into the dressing room with a sizeable 14-goal lead (22–8). The second half began with the same intensity from the Catalans, who took every opportunity to extend their lead on the scoreboard. The red-and-whites' attempts were stopped by an outstanding Saric. Before the 10-minute mark of the second half, Fertiberia suffered Nebot's injury, which led to a change in the Valencians' defensive approach. The home side, for their part, were strong in defence and quick on the counter-attack, leaving Samuel unable to do anything. Aware of the difficulty of the challenge, the Fertiberia coach gave the younger players minutes to gain playing time and experience. From the 50th minute onwards, Patxi Martí called the final timeout of the match to give instructions and encouragement to his players. In the end, the red-and-whites eased off in view of the considerable superiority and lost 43–20. FC Barcelona: Sterbik, Noddesbo (3), Juanín, Víctor Tomás (2), Sorhaindo (3), Sarmiento (3), Saric, Ariño (6), Gurbindo (1), Rutenka (3), Stranovsky (4), Viran Morros (1), Karabatic (3), Saubich (4), Kasal (2) and Lazarov (8). Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Sebastiá, Bruixola, Samuel, Marc Andreu (2), Moriñigo (4), Tarrasó (1), Lluna, Berrios, Apelgren (3), Grau (2), Plaza (2), Toni Alegre (2), Nebot, Fernández (1), Dukic (1) and Roque (2). Referees: Carlos Javier Gude Prego and Juan José Gude Prego. Stranovsky, Víctor Tomás and Karabatic were suspended for FC Barcelona, while Ángel Fernández and Carles Lluna were suspended for Fertibeira BM Puerto Sagunto.   Score at five-minute intervals:  5–1, 9–2, 12–3, 16–6, 19–7, 22–8 Half-time; 26–10, 31–11, 35–13, 38–14, 41–16, 43–20 Full-time. Palau Blaugrana.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.