Fertiberia claim their first two points against BM Logroño La Rioja

  Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto beat BM Logroño La Rioja 24-22 in a match corresponding to the third round of the Liga Profesional Plenitude ASOBAL. The Spanish proverb collection is very rich, and today two different ones could have applied at the Ovni. The predictable “there can't be two defeats without a third” against a Logroño La Rioja side of Europa League standard, or the one the red-and-white supporters were dreaming of, “third time lucky” — and it certainly was. The red-and-whites and their 1,500 supporters had to suffer greatly, but it was worth it. Fertiberia started well with a 6-5 lead in the 12th minute of the first half thanks to Olivares' organisation and direction. La Rioja's first lead brought back memories of the first two rounds. A 6-9 scoreline forced Malla to call his first timeout. It had the desired effect, and Malla's first rotation prompted a reaction from Velasco, who stopped the match at 9-9. Half-time arrived with Fertiberia holding a narrow one-goal lead (12-11), thanks to a superb Poveda goal after the final whistle from a direct free throw. The second half continued with great defensive intensity, including an outstanding advanced defender in Correro who stifled La Rioja's fluidity. Add to that a goalkeeper in inspired form, Luka Krivokapic, who with 14 saves from 28 shots finished with a phenomenal 50% save rate. For La Rioja, Aly kept his side in the game during that spell, but the 15 turnovers, some forced and others less so, bogged Logroño down and gave the Ovni crowd and Malla's side belief. The score remained close and at 29:27 in the second half, the officials excluded Poveda, and the Ovni was already thinking of a point as the lesser evil. But with eight seconds remaining, Pau Ferrer was the smartest player on court and, while short-handed, stole the ball and pandemonium broke out. Two golden points that open the red-and-whites' account and make them believe that it can be done, as the red-and-white supporters chant. Match details: Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Dani and Luka, Jaume, Nil, Del Valle (4), Arón (4), Lander (1), Pau Ferre (3), Adrián Nolasco (4), David García, Artur Parera (3), Poveda (3), Guillem Correro (1), David López Ortego (1), Olivares (1), Diego Olba. BM Logroño la Rioja: Aly and Palasics. Soler (2), Preciado (2), Korchi (3), Ponciano (1), Zaja (1), Urios (1), Garcia (2), D. Cadarso (1), Palomino (6), E. Cadarso (3). Periods: 3-2, 6-4, 6-6, 6-9, 9-9, 12-11. Half-time. 13-14, 16-17, 19-17, 19-19, 21-20, 24-22. Full-time. Referees: Huertas and Garcia. For Fertiberia, Del Valle, Aron, Pau, Nolasco and Poveda (2) were excluded; for BM Logroño, Alves, Zaja (2), Urios (2) and Palomino were excluded.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.