A great second half brings us back from the island with the two points

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto secure a 30-31 victory away to Trasmapi HC Eivissa at the Polideportivo Insular de Blancadona after a great second half, in a match corresponding to the 11th round of the Men's División de Honor Plata.

The news in the visiting team's starting seven was Juani Villarreal's return in goal. Three consecutive saves by Ignacio Pérez meant that the red-and-whites' first goal did not arrive until the third minute, scored by Carlos Martín. The two-minute suspensions given to Mauricio Basualdo twice in the opening 11 minutes were not exploited by the Puerto Sagunto side, with 1-1 and 2-1 sequences. Toni Malla called his first time-out when the home side established their first significant lead of +3 (7-4) in the 13th minute, a margin that remained on the scoreboard (9-6) midway through the first half.

Alberto Serradilla took responsibility for the seven-metre throws and converted after Oriol Teixidor's earlier miss. Many of the Ibiza side's goals came from the left-wing area, thanks to David Martínez and Marc Vega. The home side's biggest lead came in the 20th minute at +4 (13-9), with the Valencians stuck on nine goals for several minutes. Dani Martínez's introduction in goal had no effect either compared with the efficiency of the home goalkeeper. The island side's biggest advantage came right at half-time, with the score at 19-14.

The second half began in the best possible way with Joel Pararols' suspension in the first minute. There were several minutes of exchanged goals in which the differences remained at +4 and +5. The 5-1 defence, with Arnau Fernández advanced, created doubts in the attacks of the Balearic Islands side, reducing the deficit to just two goals at 23-21 in the 42nd minute. The scores were then level at 23-23 in the 45th minute, prompting Eugenio Tilves' first time-out.

The way numerical advantages were managed changed compared with the first 30 minutes. Indeed, the Puerto Sagunto side took the lead for the first time in the match while shorthanded, making it 24-25 in the 48th minute. Two consecutive goals from Matheus de Novais forced Eugenio Tilves to stop the match again in the 55th minute, with his side two goals behind at 26-28. The Brazilian's long-range effort was followed by one from Arnau Fernández and a decisive save from Dani Martínez in the 56th minute. Toni Malla called his final time-out with less than three minutes remaining, aiming to attack the home side's almost man-to-man defence. His players conceded just 11 goals in the second half, taking both points with a final score of 30-31.

With these two new points, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto have now picked up points in five consecutive domestic matches, with four wins and one draw. They climb to fourth place with 15 points and a game in hand (against Trops Málaga), and will remain in the promotion play-off places for the Liga Nexus Energía ASOBAL for another week. Their next fixture will be at home next Saturday the 29th from 18:30 against Barça Atlètic at the Pabellón Port de Sagunt, where they have so far won every match.

MATCH DETAILS: 

Trasmapi HC Eivissa (30): Ignacio Pérez (-), Fernándo González (3), Joel Pararols (-), Biel Valera (2), Karlos Rubio (3), Vicente Sancho (3), Santiago Canepa (1), Juan Montoto (3), Marc Ferré (-), Mauricio Basaldo (2), Marc Vega (5), Izan Rubio (-), David Martínez (3), Roman Chychykalo (5), Radu State Birsan (-), Aitor Chancay (-).

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (31): Juani Villarreal (-), Olivares (-), Paco Ruiz (1), Jakob Pelko (4), Dani Martínez (-), Pozzer (5), Joaquín Barceló (-), Arnau Fernández (4), Gonzalo (-), David García (1), Matheus de Novais (5), Serradilla (4), Capitán (1), Zungri (2), Carlos Martín (3), Teixidor (1).

Officials: Beatriz del Valle Encuentra and Patricia del Valle Encuentra.

Suspensions: Juan Montoto, Mauricio Basualdo and Alex Pozzer twice; Joel Pararols, Santiago Canepa, Jakob Pelko, Matheus de Novais and Antonio Capitán received two-minute suspensions, while Eugenio Tilves and Toni Malla were shown yellow cards.

Scoring sequence: 2-1, 5-3, 7-6, 13-9, 16-13, 19-14 (half-time); 21-16, 22-19, 23-22, 24-25, 26-27 and 30-31 (full-time).

Attendance: Match of the 11th round of the Men's División de Honor Plata, played at the Polideportivo Insular de Blancadona.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.