Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto come through the ordeal of FC Barcelona with dignity

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto were defeated 34-25 by unbeaten FC Barcelona Lassa

  Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto have passed the hurdle at which every team in the Asobal league has stumbled 104 times. Losing to FC Barcelona is no longer surprising to anyone; indeed, it is normal to lose by even more than the nine-goal margin by which the Valencians ended today's painful encounter with the blaugrana. The excitement lasted five minutes in the match; 3-3 was the only level scoreline seen today at the Palau. The blaugrana made their intense, powerful and tall defence an impassable wall for the red-and-whites, with only Splijak able to break through occasionally. Pozzer was tightly marked, while shots and errors forced by Barcelona's pressure turned the match into a happy world for this unbeaten team. Counter-attacks and second waves galore. It is enough to look at the scorers to see that first Saubich, then Rivera, and later Ariño were finding the net from the wings. Neither Milos's time-out nor the flow of the match changed anything. Barça opened up their first substantial leads, 11-4 after fifteen minutes, and both teams' rotations came into play. The 21-13 half-time score left the second half for the second units and fringe players of both teams. Fertiberia improved their figures. The attack, directed by that little magician Toni Alegre, and his connections with Pozzer began to click and, although Barça eased off, the red-and-whites maintained the exchange of goals. It was time for the red-and-white academy's young prospects: Juan Antonio Sarió, with three goals from three shots, and Ángel Lopez, with two from two, ensured that the club's youth system made Milos proud. The best aspect of the match for Fertiberia was those five goals which, added to Alegre's five, meant that ten of the Valencians' twenty-five goals bore the mark of players developed in their academy. Fertiberia have three matches left to defend their fifth place, which they will retain for another week following the defeat of their immediate pursuers, Bada Huesca. The first of the three will be one of those matches the Ovni lives with passion: the visit of Peña Furia Conquense. Ciudad Encantada's visit to the Ovni on Saturday 3 December will begin the Valencians' final sprint, followed by a trip to nearby Benidorm and the conclusion of the first half of the season against newly promoted Atlético Valladolid, who do not look like a newly promoted side. FC Barcelona Lassa: Ristovski, Perez de Vargas, Noddesbo (1), Tomás (1), Entrerios, Anderson (1), Ariño (5), Rivera (5), N'Guessan, Syprzak (2), Mem (5), Viran, Amigó (1), Saubich (3), Jallouz (3) and Lazarov (5). Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto: Bruixola, Ibrahim and Chueca. Ruben, Pocholo, Tarrasó (1), Spiljak (6), Berrios, Pozzer (5), Alegre (5), Angel, Juande (1), Sorrentino, Angel Lopez (2), Pacheco (1) and Sarió (3). Officials: Bañano and Belloso. Noddesbo (2), Mem and Viran were excluded for Barcelona, and Angel and Angel Lopez for Fertiberia. Score at five-minute intervals: 3-3, 8-4, 11-4, 14-6, 18-9, 21-13. Half-time. 23-14, 24-15, 27-15, 29-17, 31-21, 34-25. Full-time Palau Blaugrana. 350 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.