Bittersweet victory for Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto in Ibiza

Nico Rey and Dani Martínez during a passage of play / @udibizahceivissa

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto won 30–32 this evening away to Handbol Club Eivissa in the 23rd round of the Men’s Silver Honour Division, played at the Es Pratet Municipal Sports Pavilion. A bittersweet victory due to injuries suffered in the second half by both David García and Matheus de Novais.

 

Both teams began the match with a 6–0 defence, with recent signing Franco Gavidia notable in the centre for the home side. The rojiblancos’ change was the inclusion of Nico Rey in the starting line-up, after he had not played last week in the Comunitat derby against Horneo EÓN Alicante.

 

The first goals of the match came from the wings, scored by Fábio Teixeira and Eduardo Ortiz for the Ibizans, and two by Diego Olba for the visitors within the first five minutes. The other source of goals for the Sagunto side was Guilherme Leonel’s long-range shooting, with as many as three goals in the first half.

 

Following the first two-minute suspension, shown to Álex Malid of Handbol Club Eivissa, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto opened up their first leads of the evening, by two and three goals. Suspensions soon followed for Toni Malla’s side: Antonio Capitán and Álvaro del Valle were sent off in the 12th and 13th minutes, leaving the team temporarily with two fewer players. Despite this, they continued to extend their lead to 6–10, forcing home coach Eugenio Tilves to call his first timeout in the 13th minute.

 

Goals from Joaquín Barceló and Arnau Fernández, together with Dani Martínez’s seven saves (including two seven-metre throws), continued to increase the visitors’ lead to 7–12. Handbol Club Eivissa repeatedly came up against the Valencians’ staunch defence, going five minutes without scoring and remaining stuck on six goals. The gap narrowed in the final minutes of the first half, with the teams going into the break at 14–16.

 

After emerging from the dressing rooms, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto produced a 0–5 run in the first five minutes, putting the score at 14–21 and prompting the home side’s second timeout in the 37th minute. Dani Martínez’s four saves and Guilherme Leonel’s three goals, along with a solid defence (Handbol Club Eivissa took seven minutes to score in the second half), made the lead almost impossible to overturn.

 

Everything was going the Sagunto side’s way, with Mario Rodríguez even saving a seven-metre throw. The direct red card shown to home player Fábio Teixeira in the 40th minute did little to improve their hopes of a comeback. At 16–26, the Ibizans had used all their timeouts with more than half of the second half still to play. Toni Malla, by contrast, called his second timeout after the gap was reduced slightly to 20–28.

 

Goals from Franco Gavidia and Diego Olba led to a brief late exchange of goals, in which the home advantage allowed the hosts to reduce the deficit to just two goals, producing the final score of 30–32.

 

With this victory, Toni Malla’s side will remain in fourth place (play-off positions) in the league table for another week. They return to winning ways after recording two defeats and a draw in their previous three matches. Their next fixture will be next Saturday, 22 March, when they host Balonmano Proin Triana at the Port de Sagunt Pavilion from 18:30.

  MATCH DETAILS: Handbol Club Eivissa (30): Ignacio Pérez (-), Fábio Teixeira (3), Franco Gavidia (5), Carlos Gómez (1), Abel Navarro (2), Jorge Broto (-), Daniel Bernárdez (1), Mikel Galán (2), Diego Prada (1), Àlex Malid (-), Adrián Juárez (2), Eduardo Ortiz (5), Javier Bodí (-), Serhii Sedchenko (1), Roman Chychykalo (7).   Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (32):  Guilherme Leonel (6), Del Valle (2), Olba (6), Nico Rey (1), Daniel Martínez (-), Álex Plaza (-), Barceló (3), Arnau Fernández (1), Dusan Trifkovic (2), Gonzalo (-), David García (2), Mario (-), De Novais (-), Capitán (6), Seke (2), Torío (1).   Referees: Albert Pérez Acedo and Daniel Toro Ponce.   Suspensions: Àlex Malid, Antonio Capitán, Álvaro del Valle, Seke Gallart, Serhii Sedchenko, Franco Gavidia and Arnau Fernández received two-minute suspensions; Fábio Teixeira was shown a direct red card.   Score progression: 2–4, 5–7, 6–10, 8–12, 10–13–14–16 (half-time); 14–21, 16–23, 17–27, 22–28, 25–30 and 30–32 (full-time).   Notes: Match from the 23rd round of the Men’s Silver Honour Division, played at the Es Pratet Municipal Sports Pavilion.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.