A poor start from both sides condemns us in Valladolid

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto lost 37-30 in their first away match in the Nexus Energía ASOBAL League 2026-2027, against Recoletas Salud Atlético Valladolid at the Huerta del Rey Sports Centre from 12:00, bringing the competition’s third round to a close.

The match began with a change to Sergio Mallo’s starting seven, with Guille Soler at pivot. Martín de Bolaños scored the opening goal after moving in from the left wing to the central area of his opponents’ defence. The Valladolid side quickly turned the score around thanks to the long-range shooting of their first-line players, Fodorean and Guilherme de Toledo.

The 5:1 defence set up by the visiting coaching staff caused no problems for David Pisonero’s players, who quickly established new maximum leads of +2 (3-1), +3 (4-1) and +4 (6-2), largely because they found it easy to locate Abdelazize and Tao Gey between the red-and-white central defenders.

Defensive fragility was compounded by constant turnovers in positional attacks, forcing Sergio Mallo to call his first timeout in the seventh minute. After the break, another turnover allowed Sergio Sánchez to make it 7-2 into an empty net, as the visitors attacked seven against six, without a goalkeeper and with two pivots.

Llorens’s two-minute suspension in the ninth minute did not help, and Alejandro Pisonero made it 8-2 a minute later. Tao Gey put the score at 9-2 from seven metres in the 12th minute. Olivares ended his team-mates’ scoring drought with a penetration, but they remained stuck on just two goals for several minutes.

Once again, following a numerical advantage—this time due to Pelko’s suspension—the Castile and León side extended their lead with a goal from Álex Díaz, who had just entered the 40x20 (11-4, 16th minute). The Valencians began to improve slightly on both sides of the court, prompting David Pisonero to call a timeout in the 21st minute with the score at 11-7.

Goalkeepers Nagy and Dani Martínez came into the spotlight, as did Capitán, who continued to reduce the deficit, this time to just three goals at 12-9 in the 23rd minute. In the final moments of the first half, both teams exchanged goals, leaving the score at 17-13 at half-time.

After the restart, Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto failed to take advantage of an early suspension for Tao Gey, which resulted in a 1-1 run. In the 36th minute, there was a déjà vu of what had happened during the opening thirty minutes, with Sergio Mallo calling a timeout after seeing his opponents pull away again on the scoreboard to make it 22-15.

Only Martín de Bolaños seemed fully switched on for the Valencian Community side. He was joined by Villarreal, who replaced Dani Martínez in goal. Guilherme de Toledo was clearly Recoletas Salud Atlético Valladolid’s main attacking threat, and another maximum lead of +8 (24-16) was reached through his area in the 39th minute.

Sergio Mallo chose to use his final timeout just before reaching the halfway point of the second half. The timeout helped the team consistently find clear shooting opportunities. However, the defence never managed to adjust, not even when HÉctor Cantón, a player from the Primera Nacional reserve team, came on as the most advanced defender.

Neither Jorge Serrano’s suspension in the 47th minute nor those of Sergio Sánchez and Abdelazize in the 48th and 49th minutes respectively enabled Sergio Mallo’s players to give the impression that they could re-enter the fight for the points. With the score at 30-25 in the 52nd minute, David Pisonero wanted to avoid any scares before the final whistle and decided to call a timeout.

The timeout did not have the desired effect, and in less than two minutes the difference was reduced to just three goals at 31-28. Abdelazize, from a converted penalty, and Sergio Sánchez, into an empty net, finally settled the contest. The chaotic final minutes saw the match finish 37-30.

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto’s next fixture will also be away. It will be next Saturday from 20:00, when they visit Dicorpebal Logroño at the Palacio de los Deportes de La Rioja, in the fourth round.

MATCH REPORT:

37 – Recoletas Salud Atlético Valladolid (17+20): Nagy, Sergio Sánchez (2), Iribar (2), Fodorean (4), Abdelazize (6, 2p.), Guilherme de Toledo (6) and Tao Gey (4, 1p.) – starting seven –, Alejandro Pisonero (5), Álex Díaz (1), Jorge Serrano (3), Colón, Ignacio Suárez (2), Jozinovic (2), Ferreira and Giraldez (stand-in goalkeeper).

30 – Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto (13+17): Dani Martínez, Pelko (2), Nicolás Zungri (2), Guille Soler, Olivares (1), Capitán (7) and Martín de Bolaños (5) – starting seven –, Gabriel Navarro (1), Arnau Fernández (4, 1p.), Llorens, Gonzalo Pérez (2), Villarreal (stand-in goalkeeper), Serradilla (1), Héctor Cantón, Manzano (1) and Romanillos (4).

Referees: Antonio Javier García del Salto (Andalusian Committee) and Lorena García Gil (Aragonese Committee). They suspended home players Sergio Sánchez (2), Tao Gey, Abdelazize and Jorge Serrano, and visiting players Pelko, Llorens, Gonzalo Pérez and Capitán.

Score every five minutes: 3-1, 8-2, 9-4, 11-6, 14-10, 17-13 (half-time); 20-14, 24-17, 26-21, 30-23, 31-28 and 37-30 (full-time).

Attendance: Match from the third round of the Nexus Energía ASOBAL League, played at the Huerta del Rey Sports Centre in front of around 1,000 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.