A great first half is not enough to score in Logroño

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto lost 36–32 away from home on matchday four of the NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL League to Dicorpebal Logroño La Rioja at the Palacio de los Deportes.

The match began with a goal from Zarzuela from the right wing, practically from an impossible angle, quickly followed by a shot from Serradilla and another from Capitán, both from nine metres, which put the red-and-whites ahead for the first time at 1–2 in the opening two minutes.

The pace of the game was frantic in the early stages, with a constant exchange of goals. Despite Villarreal’s saves, the score after the first five minutes was 4–6. Gabriel Navarro and Pelko joined the scoring party for the visitors and established a new two-goal lead (4–6 and 5–7) in the following two minutes.

The lead continued to grow, reaching three (6–9) and then four goals (6–10). In response to the latter score, Miguel Ángel Velasco decided to call his first timeout in the tenth minute. Immediately afterwards, Tincho Jung ended his team’s scoring drought, during which they had remained stuck on six goals for a long spell.

In the minutes following the timeout, a quick 3–0 run by the home side allowed them to reduce the deficit to just one goal and rejoin the fight for points (9–10, 13th minute). The Logroño side’s continued attacking errors allowed the visitors to restore their four-goal lead (9–13) midway through the first half.

Two consecutive counter-attacks, converted by Arnau Fernández and Martín de Bolaños respectively, produced two new maximum leads of five (9–14) and six (9–15) on the scoreboard. Villarreal continued to record excellent save percentages. The Valencians had two opportunities to make it seven, but on both occasions they came up against Xoan Ledo, who had just come on in goal in the 40x20.

The third time was the charm, and Miguel Ángel Velasco was forced to stop the match again (9–16, 21st minute). Preciado was responsible for ending his teammates’ run of more than eight minutes without finding the opposition net. Matheus de Novais made his competitive debut this season after missing out due to paternity leave.

The Brazilian’s suspension in the 25th minute was followed by Martín de Bolaños’ in the 26th. This double numerical disadvantage, together with Manzano’s disqualification in the final move, almost on the buzzer, for a foul on D’Antino, allowed the game to tighten up by half-time, which arrived with the score at 16–18.

Dicorpebal Logroño La Rioja took advantage of the numerical superiority carried over from the first thirty minutes and, with an early 2–0 run after emerging from the dressing room, drew level after many minutes (18–18, 32nd minute). For the first time in the match, the home side moved ahead at 20–19. Xoan Ledo and Preciado came to the fore, and the 5–1 run led Sergio Mallo to call a timeout in the 37th minute with the score at 21–19.

The timeout had the desired effect. His players began to find Romanillos in the central area of their opponents’ defence in attack, and the scores were level again (22–22 and 23–23). Seven-metre throws remained an unresolved issue for the Valencians: both Arnau Fernández and Capitán missed their attempts.

The red-and-blacks established new three-goal (26–23) and four-goal (27–23) leads, forcing Sergio Mallo to use his final timeout in the 46th minute as he watched his team’s chances of earning points fade. On the second seven-metre throw, Pelko made no mistake and reduced the deficit slightly.

With ten minutes remaining, the red-and-whites fully re-entered the match at 28–26. Once again, Xoan Ledo was responsible for stopping each and every attempt at a comeback by his opponents. At the other end of the court, an inspired Oliveira also made his mark in front of goal.

The home side felt comfortable with the consistent three- and four-goal advantage they held, so Sergio Mallo opted for a new tactical variation: attacking with four back-court players, without a pivot. It produced the desired result, as the score quickly moved from 32–28 to 32–30 with less than four minutes remaining.

The wings coached by Miguel Ángel Velasco definitively tipped the balance by twice restoring a four-goal lead. The visitors, now desperate, pushed their defensive line up to virtually the halfway line. The final score was 36–32.

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto’s next fixture will be at the Pabellón Port de Sagunt after two consecutive away trips. They will host Horneo EÓN Alicante next Friday at 19:00.

MATCH DETAILS:

36 – Dicorpebal Logroño La Rioja (16+20): Cancio (gk), Zarzuela (4), Miguel Martínez (5), Tincho Jung (2), Aitor García (2), Unai Galán and Ishida (2) – starting seven –, Xoan Ledo (gk), Oliveira (6), Lombardi (1), Preciado (6), D’Antino (2, 1 x 7m), Álvaro Martínez (5, 1 x 7m), Samuel Saiz, Popovic (1) and Jevtic.

32 – Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto (18+14): Villarreal (gk), Pelko (4, 2 x 7m), Gabriel Navarro (4), Llorens, Romanillos (3), Capitán (6), and Martín de Bolaños (5) – starting seven –, Olivares (1), Dani Martínez (gk), Arnau Fernández (2), Gonzalo Pérez, Guille Soler (1), Matheus de Novais (1), Serradilla (3), Manzano (1) and Zungri (1).

Officials: Mikel Gayoso Jiménez and Eder Gómez Eguiluz (Basque Committee). The home players Oliveira and Zarzuela, and the visitors Martín de Bolaños, Arnau Fernández and Matheus de Novais were suspended. Manzano was disqualified.

Score at five-minute intervals: 4–6, 6–9, 9–11, 9–15, 12–17, 16–18 (half-time); 19–19, 23–22, 26–23, 28–25, 32–29 and 36–32 (full-time).

Attendance: Matchday four of the Nexus Energía ASOBAL League, played at the Palacio de los Deportes de La Rioja in front of approximately 1,400 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.