Points shared in the Comunitat derby

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto and BM Benidorm drew (24-24) in the final minute of the match, in a closely fought encounter, particularly in the second half, when the red-and-whites managed to take the lead. Points shared in the Comunitat derby. Both teams open their accounts in the league table after losing their opening matches.

The Comunitat derby began very evenly matched. Toni, from the centre, led the attack in the opening minutes alongside Leo, Chen and Pozzer. Franzini also made saves in goal, thanks in part to the good defensive work of Vicent Nogués's side. They took the lead, but the joy was short-lived. Attacking errors began to creep in, which Benidorm exploited to launch counter-attacks and build a five-goal lead. Academy players Toni Alegre and Óscar García reduced the deficit with counter-attacks and brought the red-and-white side back into the match. Latorre would not allow it and stopped play with a timeout. It had little effect, and they went into the break with the score at 12-14.

After the interval, the match changed direction. It was Benidorm who could not get past the red-and-white defence; this, combined with Guitart's saves and goals from Toni, Mirallave, Chen, Pozzer and Carou, meant that after 10 minutes the scoreboard was level and, in the 16th minute, the home side went one goal ahead. The red-and-whites built a two-goal lead, but in the 27th minute Benidorm restored parity. A nail-biting finish was approaching, and so it proved. With one minute left, the scores were still level. The home side's attack broke down and Benidorm came up against the second-half wall, Pau Guitart. But it did not end there: the home side lost possession again, Folques raced forward on the counter and made it 23-24, but Gen was even quicker, scoring to level the match shortly before the final buzzer.

Match details:

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Pau Guitart, Miralles, Mirallave (6), Querin (1), Alex Gil, Camacho, Carou (1), Dani Martínez, Corzo, Aizen, Alegre (4), Oscar García (3), Chen (5), Pozzer (4).

BM Benidorm: Roberto Rodriguez, Gonzalo Porras (1), Jaka, Borja (3), Jose Oliver, Jules (1), Emil (2), James Lewis (2), Grau, Mario López (3), Adrián Nolasco (1), Ivan (3); Jose Alberto (1), Nikcevic (3); Jose Alberto (1), Leonardo, Folques (4), Pabán (3)

Score progression: 3-2, 6-5,6-7, 7-10, 8-14, 12-14, 15-16, 18-18, 19-19, 21-20, 23-21, 24-24.

Exclusions: Referees Jordi Ausás and Miquel Florenza sent Caro, Lucas and Alegre of Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto off for two minutes. For BM Benidorm: Jues, Oliver, Jaka, James and Grau.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.