‘Match ball’ for the promotion phase in Gipuzkoa

This Saturday, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto travel to Gipuzkoa to face Amenabar Zarautz at the Aritzbatalde Municipal Pavilion from 17:00, in a match corresponding to matchday 28 of the Men’s Silver Division of Honour.

After two consecutive defeats in their last away matches against Blendio Sinfín (29-25) and Club Cisne Colegio Los Sauces (31-24), the red-and-whites will seek to return to winning ways away from home, a victory that would mathematically confirm their presence in the promotion phase for the Liga Plenitude Asobal.

“After the latest defeat, we have worked very well over the last few days, recovering our essence. We have only three matches left until the end of the regular season, and by winning one of them we would officially become a promotion-phase team for the Liga Plenitude Asobal. Our intention is to achieve this as soon as possible so that, as the matchdays go by, we do not have as much pressure,” comments Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto coach Toni Malla on his players’ feelings and objectives.

As for the opposition, Amenabar Zarautz are currently 13th in the competition with 17 points, making them the first team in the relegation places. Despite arriving for the match in poor form, with just one win in their last six matches, the Gipuzkoans already know what it means to take points from the home side: in the first-round match, they secured a 39-39 draw at the Port de Sagunt Pavilion.

“We are going to experience an absolute battle, a real head-to-head contest. We are visiting a very difficult court, and facing a team who are playing for nothing less than survival. We know that they are stronger at home; they have lost very few matches, and that makes the challenge even greater,” explains the Catalan coach regarding the expected match and the importance of home advantage.

“They are a team with enormous experience, who play almost instinctively thanks to the very well-established unit they have. Despite being behind on the scoreboard for long periods, they always fight to try to overturn the deficit. They will make us perform at 100% defensively and, on the other hand, ensure that we are very clear about everything we want to execute in attack,” Toni concludes, referring to the opposition and what they will demand of his team.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.