Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto makes its mark in León

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto drew 24-24 with Reale Ademar León, a team superior on paper but which was surprised by the excellent performance of the red-and-whites, who will go into the home leg with every option still open.

Ademar dominated the start of the match, taking advantage of a bewildered opening from the red-and-whites to launch counter-attacks against Bruixola's goal and take the lead (4-1). The Valencian side, meanwhile, ran into León's tough defence and Malumbres's repeated saves. It was not until the 15th minute that the scoreboard showed a 6-6 draw, prompting Manolo Cadenas to stop the match with a timeout to halt the red-and-whites' good play. From the 25th minute onwards, Fertiberia managed to take the lead (8-9) thanks to greater dynamism in attack and their formidable defence, which caused inaccuracies in León's attacking play. Finally, thanks to Bruixola's late saves, Fertiberia went into the dressing room two goals ahead (9-11), putting in a very good performance away from the Ovni against their Champions League round-of-16 opponents.

After the interval, the situation favoured Ademar, who made a frenetic start and took the lead with a 4-0 run. This eventually became a case of the León side wanting but being unable to, thanks to Milasevic, who put the team on his shoulders to keep them within touching distance of the score, supported by two other outstanding players tonight. Mirko's six goals, along with Berrios's six and five from an infallible Iker Serrano, provided the scoring foundation for a defence worthy of a frame, with Bruixola immense. From the 15th minute onwards, the red-and-whites' long-range shooting worked and forced Manolo Cadenas to call a timeout to solve the problems in attack and push his defence forward to halt the red-and-whites' effectiveness. In the end, Fertiberia left with a very positive result against a team among the 16 best in Europe, which will not make things easy in the second match of the tie.

In short, this was a match that had been presented as a major challenge and was resolved positively, as Fertiberia managed to exploit Ademar's weaknesses, emerge unscathed from León and give their supporters a magical night at the end of March. At stake will be none other than a place in the Copa del Rey Final Four, over 60 minutes and in an Ovni that will roar to overcome the illustrious lions. The next match will be played this Saturday at 6.30 p.m. and, by a twist of fate, Reale Ademar León, the league's third-placed team, will visit the Ovni. It is time to confirm the magnificent impressions from tonight, with two important points at stake.

Match details

Reale Ademar León: Asavin, Malumbres, Cabanas (3), Goñi (4), Carou (4), Nantes (2), Piñeiro, Castro, Carrillo (2), Borges (5), Tatarintsev (1), Golubovic, Vranjes (4).

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Bruixola, Pablo, Samuel, Mateu, Moriñigo, Tarrasó (2), Berrios (6), Chernov (2), Ángel Fernández, Vallés (3), Serrano (5), Ruiz, Milasevic (6), Toni Alegre and Nebot.

Referees: Alvaro Ruíz González and David Zapico Fernández. Suspensions for Reale Ademar León: Goñi (2); and for Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Chernov, Ángel Fernández and Valles.

Score at five-minute intervals: 4-1, 5-3, 6-6, 7-7, 8-9, 9-11 Half-time 10-13, 14-14, 17-16, 19-20, 21-21, 24-24. Full-time. Palacio de Deportes de León. 2,500 spectators

Full match statistics

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.