Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto lose a very close match

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto lost 27–28 to Helvetia Anaitasuna, against opponents who never gave up and take both points back to Navarre, helped by some questionable decisions from the refereeing pair. In the opening stages, the red-and-whites controlled the play, motivated by the good results in their previous two matches. After 15 minutes, the score stood at 7–8; turnovers and missed counter-attacks punished the red-and-whites, allowing the Navarrese side to take the lead and control the match. The Valencian team were uncomfortable on court and repeatedly hit the goalposts, helping Capón keep a clean sheet. Later, in the 25th minute, Anaitasuna looked very secure with their 5–1 defence and neutralised all Fertiberia's dangerous chances, forcing Vicent Nogués to call a time-out and give instructions to his tired players. The first half did not end well for the red-and-whites: the Valencian side went into the break trailing 12–17, showing signs of fatigue and with luck on the visitors' side. The second half began with the Navarrese side highly motivated, and a 0–3 run put them firmly ahead. Following a time-out called by Vicent Nogués, the red-and-whites returned to the court with renewed focus and gave Anaitasuna no opportunities. With very intense defending and Pablo's fantastic saves in goal, they came back from an eight-goal deficit to lead 23–22. From the 25th minute onwards, Fertiberia became bogged down in attack because of the fatigue accumulated over the season, and the visitors took advantage to close the gap (24–24). In the closing minutes, the red-and-whites struggled to contain the Navarrese intensity, which enabled the visitors to turn the score around; ultimately, nothing could be done about Mirko's final chance (27–28). In short, the red-and-whites put in a hard-working, combative performance after a week full of commitments, but were unable to end the week satisfactorily. The next league match will be played in Andalusia against ARS Palma del Río on Saturday 13. Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Bruixola, Pablo, Samuel, Mateu, Moriñigo (1), Tarrasó (3), Berrios (2), Chernov (2), Ángel Fernández, Serrano (3), Ruiz (1), Milasevic (5), Toni Alegre, Nebot, Latorre (2), Chispi (8) and Carles Lluna. Helvetia Anaitasuna: Capón, Latorre, Rodríguez (1), Martínez, Reig (1), Meoki (2), Montávez (5), Nadoveza (4), Borragan (7), Novelle (3), Schulz, Chocarro (3), Marcelo (1), Goñi (1), Rolandas and Gastón. Referees: Antonio Merino Mori and Francisco Javier Moyano Prieto. Suspensions: for Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto, Chispi and Chernov (DD); and for Helvetia Anaitasuna, Chocarro and Goñi. Score at five-minute intervals: 2–2, 6–5, 7–8, 9–10, 6–8, 12–17 Half-time 13–20, 17–21, 20–22, 24–22, 25–25, 27–28. Full-time. Municipal Sports Centre Ovni — 1,500 spectators

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