Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto miss out on the Final Four

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto lost 44-27 to FC Barcelona this evening in a one-sided tie from the outset, and with this victory the Catalans return to the Copa del Rey Final Four. The match began with the red-and-whites striking first through goals from Moriñigo and Dukic. FC Barcelona soon reacted and, after missing a penalty, quickly scored twice. After the first ten minutes, the Catalans led by just one goal, in a very even opening marked by imprecision when finishing chances. Xavi Pascual's men rolled up their sleeves and quickly pulled away on the scoreboard (9-5), prompting Patxi Martí to call a timeout to issue instructions and introduce fresh players. The red-and-whites reduced the deficit (12-9) by taking advantage of FC Barcelona's errors in attack, but once again the home side pulled five goals clear on the counter-attack. Finally, the hosts increased the pace in the closing minutes to end the first half with a significant advantage (19-12). The second half began with the Catalans dominating confidently in defence and with maximum efficiency in attack. Patxi Martí soon called a timeout to halt the culé onslaught and slow the match down. Valencia's chances were stopped by an outstanding Saric, and little damage could be done to the home defence. Fertiberia rested its key players and played with the important match against Bidasoa Irún in mind, allowing the hosts to put the game beyond doubt with 15 minutes remaining, at 31-17. In the final minutes, the difference in squad strength led to a flood of FC Barcelona goals, and they won 44-27. Fertiberia's next fixture will be the 21st league match against bottom side Bidasoa Irún, from 18:30, at the Ovni. FC Barcelona: Noddesbo (6), Juanín (9), Tomás, Entrerríos (3), Sorhaindo (1), Sarmiento (4), Saric, Ariño (3), Gurbindo (1), Robin, Stranovsky (4), Morros, Suabich (7), Revuelta and Lazarov (6). Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Sebastiá, Samuel, Rubén Ruiz (2), Moriñigo (1), Tarrasó, Lluna, Berrios (7), Apelgren, Grau, Plaza (6), Toni Alegre (1), Nebot (2), Fernández (2), Dukic (1), Roque and Dimitrievski (5). Referees: Carlos Luque Cabrejas and Ignacio Pascual Sánchez (Catalan Regional Federation).   Suspended for FC Barcelona: Sorhaindo (2), Morros; for Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Ruiz, Dimitrievski (DD)   Score at five-minute intervals:  3-2, 6-5, 10-5, 12-8, 16-12, 19-12 Half-time 24-13, 30-16, 33-19, 35-22, 38-24, 44-27 Full-time. Palau Blaugrana.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.