The cup competition in Oviedo comes during a week of many kilometres

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto face the first of the two away matches they will play this week on Wednesday. They will take on Confía Base Oviedo from 20:00 at the Vallobín Sports Centre, in the first round of the LII Copa de S. M. el Rey organised by the Royal Spanish Handball Federation.

The Puerto Sagunto side head into the match after earning their first away point of the season last weekend (27-27) in the NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL League against Tubos Villa de Aranda at the Santiago Manguán Pavilion, on the competition’s seventh matchday. The result allowed the team to remain ninth in the league table, with a total of five points.

The Oviedo side, meanwhile, are enjoying an excellent run in the Silver Division of Honour, having taken points from their last five matches in the competition, with one draw and four victories. In their most recent match, they won away to Amenabar Zarautz 31-33. They sit fifth with nine points and occupy a promotion position for the promotion phase to the top tier of national handball.

“They are an extremely difficult opponent, with a squad whose style of play is very different from the norm, featuring excellent feinting players and very good ball continuity. Pablo Galech’s influence has given them an extra dimension beyond the concepts they had already learned and, in addition, they have brought in a taller pivot,” Sergio Mallo said about the opponents they will face at the pre-match press conference.

Pablo Galech has been the team’s head coach since the start of this season, replacing Juan Moreno in the role. The club renewed the contracts of twelve players from last season’s squad. The departures of Elián Groux, Jorge Ureña, Pedro Sánchez de Posada and Tomás Pérez were covered by the arrivals of Fabricio de Souza, Pablo González, Lucas Santos and Jorge Lema.

The most recent meeting between the sides from the Valencian Community and the Principality of Asturias took place in March this year, also at the Vallobín Sports Centre. The Valencians returned home with both points after the final score of 21-26.

Although the domestic competition is the priority, Gonzalo Pérez made the red-and-white side’s intentions perfectly clear: “We are travelling to give everything on the 40x20 court, and our only objective can be to keep progressing through the rounds of this competition, which could in turn mean playing our home matches in it in the future.”

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto supporters who wish to follow the match broadcast remotely can do so via the following link: https://https://www.youtube.com/live/KrqzK_EHLxo?si=z_e-HowZQ-w8hk49.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.