Fertiberia make a good impression but fail to win in league opener

Fertiberia lose 31-33 to Recoletas Atlético Valladolid in a match contested until the final second, with a draw narrowly missed. The red-and-whites produced a first half to remember but were unable to finish the job in the second half, also affected by an injury to our conductor, Dija Cruz. It should be noted that the 200 supporters who attended the Ovni cheered as if they were 1,500, and that the team lived up to their support by fighting until the final second on the Ovni’s blue court.

Fertiberia came out fired up on court. The player to open the scoring was Gonzalo Carou, who ended Calle’s run of saves and showed that he is Asobal’s best defender, while also being capable of giving the red-and-white supporters plenty of joy in attack. Confidence was evident on Vicent Nogués’ bench. Nacho scored his first goal of the season with a spin shot, Toni was alert from the wing and Pau Guitart made his ASOBAL debut in style as Fertiberia’s starting goalkeeper, halting Valladolid’s surge as they looked for a faster match to win on the counter but were unable to do so thanks to the red-and-whites’ good attacking and defensive play. In the first 8 minutes, the red-and-whites led by 2 on the scoreboard, and in the 22nd minute they had a 5-goal lead. They were unable to maintain it with the rotations, although they remained ahead on the scoreboard. Pozzer and Pomeranz came on in attack and continued to create danger. Chen made his ASOBAL debut by daring to shoot and score from 7 metres, although he also later showed the thunderbolts he can unleash. Franzzini also made his debut and demonstrated his accuracy by saving penalties. With all this, they went into half-time leading 15-13.

After the interval, Nogués’ side remained ahead of the blue gladiators, but they only held firm for the first 5 minutes. That was when the scores were level on the scoreboard and the visiting team got the match they wanted. Valladolid, known for running on the counter-attack, had free rein, taking advantage of mistakes in attack. It was a very different second half from the first, also shaped by Dija Cruz’s injury. The Fertiberia coach tried to halt the negative momentum with two time-outs. After the second, the red-and-whites cut the deficit and moved to within 2 goals of an equaliser. Corzo was again key in attack, the match’s top scorer, taking penalties with ice-cold composure. The draw was close, and the players showed that they wanted to draw or win until the final second, with Carou calling for Óscar to come forward during the visitors’ final attack and Franzini making 3 consecutive saves in the closing minutes.

Match details:

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Pau Guitart, Miralles, Mirallave (2), Querin (2), Alex Gil, Camacho, Carou (5), Dani Martínez, Corzo (10), Aizen, Alegre (3), Dija (2), Oscar García (1), Chen (5), Pozzer (1).

Recoletas Atlético Valladolid: Camino (4), Nicolar López (1), Ander (2), Pérez, Adrián Fernández (3), Alejandro Pisonero, Carlos Calle, Arthur, César Pérez, Alvaro Martínez, Miguel Martínez (4), Roberto Pérez (1), Jorge Serrano (7), Miguel Camino (5), Manuel García, Victor Rodriguez (5)

Period scores: 2-2, 7-3, 10-5, 11-6, 13-8, 15-12, 18-16, 19-19, 21-23, 25-27, 28-31, 31-33

Two-minute suspensions: For Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto, Querín, Carou, Toni Alegra, Chen Pomeranz and Alex Pozzer were given two-minute suspensions. For Recoletas Atlético Valladolid, Lobato, Arthur and Ander were suspended.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.