Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto show their fighting spirit and come back from the brink

Bernatonis returns and, with 8 goals from 10 attempts, was the red-and-white side’s top scorer.

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto drew 28–28 yesterday with Villa de Aranda in a thrilling match that could have gone either way in a tense finish.

The match began with the visiting side unable to find the rhythm needed to stop Aranda during the first 15 minutes. The hosts moved three or four goals ahead, and defensive errors forced Pachi Martí to call his first timeout in the 16th minute to organise his players in defence and prevent the home side from extending their lead. However, the timeout had little effect, as the hosts continued their highly effective attacking play and went as many as six goals ahead in the 25th minute of the first half. Fertiberia lacked the defensive intensity needed to stop the home attack, but even so, a late surge allowed them to reduce the deficit slightly, and they reached half-time four goals down at 17–13. With this score, there was still hope of a comeback.

At the start of the second half, Fertiberia came out more focused thanks to Bernatonis’s introduction, and tightening the defence on Aranda player Juanlu enabled them to reduce the deficit to just two goals within the first eight minutes. This allowed the Valencians to entertain hopes of a comeback. The match remained very even until the 41st minute, when the home side restored a four-goal lead. This prompted Pachi Martí to react and call another timeout. This time it worked, as his team reduced the deficit to just one goal with 10 minutes remaining. The match changed thanks to the defensive intensity, Bruixola’s saves and Bernatonis’s accurate shooting, to the extent that Fertiberia equalised at 25–25 in the 52nd minute, prompting another timeout from Jacobo Cuétara, who saw the home side responding and recovering from the six-goal lead they had held. However, fatigue was already becoming apparent among the visiting players after their efforts, and mistakes followed at both ends, making the final minutes a back-and-forth contest on the scoreboard.

In summary, the match had two faces. In the first half, the Valencian defence sprang leaks and allowed the opposition to increase their lead; in the second half, thanks to the visiting players’ fighting spirit in front of the Red-and-White Tide supporters who had travelled to Villa de Aranda, they managed to draw a match that felt like a victory.

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto’s next fixture will be at the Ovni against Champions League side Naturhouse La Rioja next Tuesday at 8.30 pm.

 BM Villa de Aranda: Santana, Da Rosa, Canyigueral (4), Peciña (1), Armi Part, Moyano (5), Muñoz (9), Figueroa (4), Megías, Moreira (4), Revin, Perrella, Cakic (1)

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Bruixola, Ibrahim, Bernatonis (8), R. Ruiz, Sladic (1), Pocholo (4), Sayad, Berrios (5), Corzo (2), Pozzer (4), Alegre (2), Nebot (1), Ángel, Sasa (1), Piró and Sarió.

Referees: Sebastián Fernández Molina and Alberto Murillo Castro (Andalusian Federation). Peciña, Armi Part (2), Figueroa and Revin were excluded for Villa de Aranda, while Pozer (2), Corzo (2) and Ángel were excluded for Fertiberia.

Partial score every five minutes: 1–1, 4–2, 6–3, 10–5, 14–9, 17–13 half-time, 19–16, 20–18, 23–20, 24–23, 28–28 final. Match played at the Príncipe de Asturias Pavilion in Aranda de Duero, 2,000 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.