The end of our cup run

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto bow out in the second round of the 51st edition of the Copa de S. M. el Rey after losing 30-35 to REBI Cuenca at the Port de Sagunt Pavilion.

The match began with the home side taking a 2-0 lead, which the visitors quickly answered with a 0-6 run, largely thanks to goals from their right winger, Afonso Mendes. Sergio Mallo’s first time-out soon followed, before the ten-minute mark, when the deficit had reached four goals (3-7). Faced with constant attacking errors, the red-and-whites tried playing seven against six with two pivots, but without the desired result.

Just after the midway point of the first half, Sergio Mallo stopped the match again with the score at 4-10. The few occasions on which the Puerto side found clear shooting opportunities were thwarted by Daniel Arguillas in goal. Two consecutive goals from Gonzalo Pérez led Lidio Jiménez to call a time-out at the first sign of a comeback. Unlike the Cuenca side, the Valencians were unable to make the most of their numerical advantages. The half-time score was 13-20.

After the teams emerged from the changing rooms came the worst possible news in a match with such a large gap on the scoreboard: Álex Pozzer suffered an injury to his right shoulder. The Castile-La Mancha side established their biggest leads of +9 (13-22) and +10 (14-24), helped by their goalkeepers’ high save percentages. The Valencian side increased their defensive intensity and, thanks to three consecutive numerical advantages, produced a 4-0 run that reduced the deficit from 14-24 to 18-24.

Alberto Serradilla had a seven-metre throw to bring his team within five goals, but missed. REBI Cuenca extended their lead again and the match was practically decided with 20 minutes remaining. In the closing stages, all the players named in the squad saw time on court, including Rodrigo Alba, a back-line player from the Primera Nacional reserve side, who managed to score twice. The final score was 30-35.

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto’s next fixture will be this Saturday from 18:00, when they visit Club Balonmano Soria at the San Andrés Sports Centre in the 25th round of the Men’s Silver Honour Division.

MATCH DETAILS:

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (30): Juani Villarreal (-), Olivares (3), Paco Ruiz (3), Rodrigo Alba (2), Jakob Pelko (-), Dani Martínez (-), Pozzer (-), Arnau Fernández (2), Gonzalo (3), David García (2), Matheus de Novais (3), Serradilla (2), Capitán (5), Zungri (1), Carlos Martín (-), Teixidor (4).

REBI Cuenca (35): Enrico Aldini (2), Vinícius Bertoldo (2), Manuel Lima (5), Nacho Pizarro (4), Álvaro Martín (3), Pedro Tonicher (-), Afonso Mendes (4), Sergio Antúnez (1), Rajmond Toth (5), Pedro Matos (-), Fede Pizarro (2), Joao Perbellini (2), Jaime Colmena (1), Juanpe Espinosa (3), Daniel Arguillas (-), Guilherme Tavares (1).

Referees: Albert Pérez Acedo and Daniel Toro Ponce.

Suspensions: Nicolás Zungri and Guilherme Tavares twice, Gonzalo Pérez, Antonio Capitán, Manuel Lima, Álvaro Martín and Afonso Mendes received two-minute suspensions.

Score by periods: 2-3, 4-7, 4-9, 7-12, 10-17, 13-20 (half-time); 14-24, 28-25, 20-28, 23-29, 26-33 and 30-35 (full-time).

Notes: Match from the second round of the Copa de S. M. el Rey, played at the Port de Sagunt Pavilion in front of approximately 1,400 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.