Fertiberia retain second place in the table after thrashing Palma del Río

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto secured a convincing 19–35 away win against ARS Naranjas Palma del Río in a match dominated by the red-and-whites from start to finish, despite the suspensions and Dorado’s straight red card in the first half. The result keeps Nogués’ side second in the table, which would allow the promotion phase to the top tier of Spanish handball to be held at the Ovni.

In the first half, the home side began with an open defence, which the Valencians knew how to break, taking the lead on the scoreboard. The red-and-whites put in a good defensive performance, troubling the Andalusians with a 6–0 defence. Nogués’ side also had to contend with suspensions, but according to the coach himself, “despite the suspensions, we managed to take a seven-goal lead into half-time.”

After the interval, Palma del Río started strongly, but Fertiberia held firm and, thanks to their defence and a good attacking spell, built a very substantial lead. This allowed them to enjoy a calmer finish, which also saw the third goalkeeper, Ribes, make his División de Honor Plata debut.

After the match, the red-and-white coach, Vicent Nogués, highlighted that “The team were very good in defence and on the counter-attack, and I am genuinely very happy and proud. Now we have to think about Bordils and maintain second place in the table.”

MATCH DETAILS

ARS Palma del Río: Ignasi Almela, Del Castillo (1), Sandoval (4), Ruiz López (1), Morales, López Díaz, Jesús Morales (3), González Villegas (4), Santos Urraco, Juan Antonio Rodríguez, Castaño, Castillo, Benítez, Morgado (1), Reyes Figueroa (4), Adrián Salas (1)

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto. Montoya (5), Dija (2), Mirallave (1), Pocholo, Leo Querin, Jaka (5), Marcos Dorado (1), Chueca, Ribes, Corzo (6), Toni, Óscar García (4), Josep Folqués (8), Camacho (3),

Periods:

1–1, 2–4, 4–7, 5–11, 8–12, 9–16, 11–19, 13–22, 14–26, 17–30, 17–34, 19–35

Referees: Jaka (2) and Josep were suspended for Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto; Marcos Dorado received a straight red card. Carlos and Raúl were suspended for ARS Palma del Río.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.