Fertiberia fight until the end against León but come away empty-handed

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto lost 27–31 in a match they fought until the end against Liga Plenitude Asobal’s fifth-placed team. The red-and-whites gave everything on the court and stood up to one of the league’s top sides. During the match, Jaume Pujol returned to the court after his injury, while Nolasco and Parera were absent for several minutes due to injuries. The match began with a sluggish Fertiberia paying dearly for mistakes in front of goal, which León knew how to exploit to move four goals ahead on the scoreboard by launching counter-attacks. After a timeout from Malla, the red-and-whites managed to overturn the initial 0–4 deficit and went ahead on the scoreboard before the 15-minute mark. Malla’s team held their own against the fifth-placed side thanks to Dani Martínez’s saves and goals from Nolasco, Nil and Plaza. Despite this, León went into half-time with a two-goal lead at 14–16. After the half-time break,Fertiberia stepped up a gear and moved three goals ahead on the scoreboard, with a superb Dani Martínez between the posts. The Puerto de Sagunto side held on to their lead until the final two minutes, when León turned the scoreboard around, taking advantage of several attacking fouls called by the officials, and ultimately claimed the points.

At the end of the match, Toni Malla said that ‘you can’t ask any more of the lads, they left everything on the court. If we had had more rotation options, we would have won the match’. Team sheet:

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto: Krivokapic, Martínez, Pujol (1), Nil (2), Alex Plaza (6), Díaz (1), Pueyo (6), Nolasco (7), Parera, López (1), Olba (1), Seke Gallart, David García (2), Paco Joosten.

Score: 1–4, 5–5, 7–7, 8–11, 12–14, 14–16, 18–17, 21–19, 24–22, 24–25, 26–26, 27–31

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.