Fertiberia play their final card to return to Asobal

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto reach the moment they have been waiting for all season: the promotion play-off to Asobal, which will be held this weekend at the Ovni. On 8 and 9 June, the city will host a major event in which the red-and-whites will play their final card to return to the highest tier of Spanish handball. Four teams, one place and the same objective. The red-and-whites have home advantage and are favourites after finishing second in the División de Honor Plata league. But during those two days, that will not matter; all four teams want to return to Asobal, and the time to give everything and fight for our return is now!

The play-off will be played over two days. Saturday 8 June will be the turn of the semi-finals. Fertiberia will face the league’s fourth-placed side, MMT Seguros Zamora, from 6 pm. Then, from 8 pm, the third- and fourth-placed teams, Balonmano Alarcos Ciudad Real and Torrelavega, will fight for a place in the final. On Sunday, the two teams that win on Saturday will face each other to win the play-off and the only remaining place to return to Asobal, following Nava’s direct promotion after finishing first in the División de Honor Plata Masculina league.

The red-and-white coach, Vicent Nogués, has stressed that they are approaching the two matches with enthusiasm and great motivation: “We are very excited, and the team are aware of what is at stake. We have worked hard these past two weeks, but the wait and our eagerness to compete and achieve our objective have made it feel a little long. These matches will be very open, although I think we are superior, as shown by the table and the matches played throughout the year. But those figures will count for nothing on Saturday and Sunday; all that will remain is to step onto the court and prove it.

Regarding the first opponent the red-and-whites will face, Vicent Nogués says that “Zamora showed at home that they are a difficult, awkward team who know exactly how they want to play, and that can lead to very complicated spells during the match. The team will have to be very sharp in defence and handle the moments of nerves and tension that will arise during the 60 minutes in order to win the semi-final and reach Sunday’s final.”

“I have not really seen much of the other two opponents. We are very focused on Saturday’s match, but we know that Alarcos have improved as the season has gone on. We beat them very easily at home in the first half of the season, but in the second half they made things very difficult for us at their venue in Ciudad Real. Torrelavega, meanwhile, are a very well-organised side with plenty of good players, and in a play-off involving two consecutive matches they can offer a great deal. I can see that they have the ability to rotate their players extensively and arrive very fresh for Sunday’s final.”, Nogués concludes.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.