Fertiberia knocked out of the Copa del Rey by an excellent Helvetia Anaitasuna

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey after losing 28–36 to a superior Helvetia Anaitasuna, who broke the match open in the opening minutes. Toni Malla’s side tried until the end, but it was not to be. This week brings a league break, with the red-and-whites still leading their group and continuing to dream of returning to the Liga ASOBAL.

The match began with Anaitasuna quickly taking the lead, making the most of their goalkeeper’s saves and launching fast counter-attacks. The red-and-whites reached the 10th minute 3–9 down, and coach Toni Malla stopped the match, hoping for a reaction from his players. The Puerto Sagunto side tried with goals from Pau Ferre and saves by Dani, but the visitors continued to make saves, while Malla’s side made attacking errors and Anaitasuna won possession. There was a surge before half-time, but it was not enough to go into the break with a close scoreline (13–19).

After the break,Fertiberia tried to reduce the deficit on the scoreboard with Dani’s saves, but the Basque defence and goalkeeping prevented them from drawing level. Toni Malla’s players did not lower their arms, nor did the supporters, who encouraged the team until the end.

After the match, Toni Malla said that the team’s first 15 minutes weighed them down throughout the game. Anaitasuna took full advantage of the errors, and although we tried until the end, we were unable to recover from that poor start’

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.