Draw with Torrevieja in the Almassora friendly (33-33)

Alser Puerto Sagunto and Torrevieja drew 33-33 in the III Jorge Clausell Memorial, played on Friday night in Almassora. Torrevieja prevailed in the seven-metre shoot-out to decide the tournament winner, taking the trophy back to its cabinet.

The match unfolded within the usual parameters of this type of game, with attacking play prevailing over defences that were less commanding than usual. Both teams had absences and included young academy players in their squads.

The most notable aspect was the rojiblancos’ goalkeeping line-up, as the absences of Bruixola and Peg left them with a teenage goalkeeping duo: the “veteran” Samuel Ibañez, aged 19, as the starter, and 18-year-old Spain youth international Ibrahim Moral, who made his debut for Alser’s Asobal team.

And they were certainly the pleasant surprise of the evening. Samuel Ibañez, playing in his home town of Almassora, produced a superb performance with a very high save percentage, allowing Alser to establish a healthy lead and go into half-time 17-14 ahead. In the second half, the rojiblancos maintained their good level and built a six-goal lead. However, a highly motivated and effective Jorge Sanchez from the left wing, together with the Chilean left-hander Rodrigo Salinas’s strong scoring ability, narrowed the gap. Castro’s excellent direction from the centre of the Salinas attack should not be overlooked either.

As the match was for everyone, Goran Dzockic remained faithful to its friendly nature and rotated all his players (Laguna did the same for Torrevieja). Even with the score level, he gave the final ten minutes in goal to the aforementioned Ibrahim Moral, adding responsibility to the youngster’s debut. These were not ten minutes of dead time; they were ten minutes in which to win a match, even if it was a friendly. The young international goalkeeper responded to the manager’s brave decision with several excellent saves. Although lacking the excitement of points at stake, the end of the match was becoming a classic for the rojiblancos. On this occasion, they had the ball to draw the match in the final possession, but Nacho Moya Florido pulled a superb shot out of his hat, which this time did find the Salinas goal. As an anecdote, in the seven-metre shoot-out it was Nacho Moya himself who missed the shot that meant the III Jorge Clausell Memorial Trophy travelled to the Alicante cabinet.

On Wednesday 25th at 8.15 pm, at the Ovni, there will be another friendly against an Asobal team and direct league rival. BM Huesca, managed by Alicante-born Nolasco, will once again visit the Valencian region.

Young international goalkeeper Ibrahim Moral made his debut for the Asobal team

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.