Victory in Alcobendas after a heart-stopping finish

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto came away victorious (26–27) from their visit to Club Balonmano Alcobendas at the Pabellón de los Sueños, in a match corresponding to the eighteenth round of the Men’s Silver Honour Division.

Two goals from Paco Ruiz, who was responsible for taking the penalties, put the score at 1–3 in the first three minutes of the match. Laurenz Kluth’s two-minute suspension was not exploited by the visitors, and the home side then enjoyed a 2–1 run. After that, Alcobendas went five minutes without finding the net, and new red-and-white maximum leads of +4 (5–9) and +5 (5–10) arrived in the 12th and 13th minutes respectively, thanks to Juani Villarreal’s saves and the ease with which they repeatedly found Álex Pozzer at pivot.

Gonzalo Pérez’s suspension around the 15th minute led to a 2–0 run for the Madrid side, with two consecutive goals from Óscar Moreno allowing them to reduce the deficit slightly (7–10). Javier Suárez called his first timeout in the 16th minute. The capital side continued to find their wings and moved to within two goals (8–10). The Valencians quickly extended their lead back to +4 (9–13), largely thanks to the left side of the attack, featuring Oriol Teixidor and Carlos Martín. Sergio Mallo stopped the match to prepare the final play before half-time, with successful results. The teams reached the interval at 13–17.

After the restart, the Madrid side continued to show the same inaccuracies as in the first half. There was a spell of exchanged goals that favoured the Valencian side. The red and whites made a couple of poor decisions in attack, reducing the scoring efficiency they had shown during the opening 30 minutes. Javier Suárez called another timeout in the 42nd minute with the scoreboard showing 16–22; it had an immediate effect, producing a 2–0 run that made it 18–22 halfway through the second half.

Sergio Mallo was forced to stop the match in the 48th minute after seeing his opponents draw ever closer on the scoreboard (20–23). Carlos Martín unlocked the positional attack from the left wing, as the Port de Sagunt side had become stuck on 23 goals. The home side pushed up in defence, forcing red-and-white errors. Arnau Fernández’s direct red card in the 56th minute increased Club Balonmano Alcobendas’ hopes of earning their first points of the season. Anthony Pinto had a chance to level the match with it almost over, but Juani Villarreal saved it and the final score was 26–27.

With these two additional points, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto move level on 28 points with the division leaders, Cajasol Sevilla BM Proin, although they remain below them due to an unfavourable head-to-head goal difference. They will also remain second for another week, regardless of what happens in the rest of the round.

The next fixture will be on Saturday, when they host Anaitasuna at the Port de Sagunt Sports Hall from 18:30, in a match corresponding to the nineteenth round.

MATCH DETAILS:

Club Balonmano Alcobendas (26): Alejandro Colón (6), Óscar Moreno (7), Jaime Suárez (-), Javier Suárez (-), Pablo Muñoa (-), Sergio Lozano (2), Yago Abad (1), José María Gutiérrez (2), Óscar Ruiz (-), Anthony Pinto (2), David Torrejón (2), David López (-), Laurenz Kluth (3), Alonso Maidana (1), Diego Cristian Lita (-), Alejandro Echevarría (-).

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (27): Juani Villarreal (-), Marcos Castañeda (-), Olivares (1), Francisco Ruiz (2), Jakob Pelko (1), Dani Martínez (-), Pozzer (2), Arnau Fernández (-), Gonzalo (-), David García (-), Matheus de Novais (6), Serradilla (3), Capitán (-), Zungri (2), Carlos Martín (7), Teixidor (3).

Officials: Raúl López Burgueño and Álvaro García San José.

Suspensions: Laurenz Kluth, Arnau Fernández, Gonzalo Pérez and David García received two-minute suspensions, while Arnau Fernández received a direct red card.

Scoring intervals: 1–3, 4–6, 6–10, 9–12, 10–15, 13–17 (half-time); 14–19, 16–20, 18–22, 20–23, 23–25 and 26–27 (full-time).

Attendance: Match from the 18th round of the Men’s Silver Honour Division, played at the Pabellón de los Sueños.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.