The Pabellón Port de Sagunt knows nothing but victory

Another victory (28-21) for Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto at the Pabellón Port de Sagunt—four wins from four at home—today against Confía Balonmano Base Oviedo in the 8th round of the División de Honor Plata Masculina.

Toni Malla’s starting seven included Jakob Pelko on the right wing, following the physical discomfort he had been carrying in recent weeks. The first goals for either side did not arrive until the fourth minute. A favourable 4-0 spell for the home side turned 0-1 into 4-1, built on Juani Villarreal’s saves and four different scorers in attack. The offensive transitions were led by Antonio Capitán. The 6-2 score in the tenth minute forced Daniel Bandrés to call the first timeout of the match. The timeout did not resolve some of his players’ problems, including their scoring, as they remained stuck on just two goals for several minutes.

The red-and-whites’ biggest lead arrived in the eighteenth minute at +8 (11-3). This lead allowed Toni Malla to begin rotating his squad, with every selected player getting minutes except Dani Martínez in goal. The visitors slightly reduced the deficit through Elián Goux’s seven-metre throws. It proved to be a brief illusion, as the home side almost immediately restored their +8 lead. The Valencians’ excellent defence meant the side from the Asturian capital had not reached double figures by the end of the first thirty minutes (16-8).

The exchange of goals after the teams emerged from the dressing rooms favoured the home side. Elián Goux, Oviedo’s main attacking threat, also received his second two-minute suspension. The visitors’ attacking stagnation and lack of ideas prompted Toni Malla to call a timeout in the thirty-ninth minute with the score at 18-13. It had the desired effect, as the maximum +8 lead returned before the forty-fifth minute (23-15), driven by an accurate Juani Villarreal.

Although both teams eased off the accelerator slightly, the match’s biggest lead came in the forty-eighth minute at +9 (24-15). The final minutes were practically a formality, as the gap was unbridgeable. A suspension for Gonzalo Pérez with two minutes remaining allowed Confía Balonmano Base Oviedo to slightly reduce the final margin, which ended 28-21.

Next Wednesday, the 5th, from 20:00, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto will play at home again, but in a different competition. They will contest the first round of the 2026 Copa de S. M. el Rey, a single-leg tie against an opponent from Liga NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL: BM Caserío Ciudad Real.

MATCH DETAILS: 

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (28): Juani Villarreal (-), Paco Ruiz (1), Jakob Pelko (2), Dani Martínez (-), Pozzer (4), Arnau Fernández (4), Gonzalo (2), David García (1), Matheus de Novais (1), Serradilla (-), Capitán (4), Zungri (2), Carlos Martín (2), Teixidor (5).

Confía Balonmano Base Oviedo (21): Juan Gamallo (-), Raúl Blanco (4), Javier Colías (-), Joaquín Pérez (2), Tomás Bautista (-), Pablo Granda (1), David Pulgar (1), Rubén Menéndez (-), Jorge Ureña (-), Gonzalo Pulgar (-), Mikel Galán (1), Elián Goux (8), Javi Sanz (-), Jayro Pérez (1), Emiliano Franceschetti (3), Juan Prieto (-).

Officials: José David Sánchez Martínez and Antonio Cintas Roldán.

Suspensions and cards: Elián Goux twice; Alex Pozzer, Nicolás Zungri, Oriol Teixidor, Toni Malla, Pablo Granda, Rubén Menéndez and Mikel Galán received two-minute suspensions; Alex Pozzer, Javier Colías and Daniel Bandrés were shown yellow cards, while Rubén Menéndez received a straight red card.

Score progression: 1-1, 5-2, 9-2, 11-4, 15-7, 16-8 (half-time); 18-11, 20-13, 23-15, 25-17, 27-20 and 28-21 (final).

Match information: Match from the 8th round of the División de Honor Plata Masculina, played at the Pabellón Port de Sagunt in front of approximately 1,400 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.