Victory and head-to-head goal difference to consolidate their position near the top of the table

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto confidently defeated UBU San Pablo Burgos 2031 (28-24) at the Port de Sagunt Pavilion, in a match corresponding to the twenty-second round of the Men's Silver Division.

Javier Olivarse at centre and Arnau Fernández at right back stood out in the red-and-white starting seven, the latter covering for the injured Nicolás Zungri. The home side’s strong defensive start meant that the visitors did not score their first goal until nearly the fifth minute. The Porteños soon opened up the first three-goal leads (4-1 and 5-2). New maximum leads of four (6-2) and five (7-2), driven by two penalties converted by Alberto Serradilla, forced Samuel Trives to call his first time-out on the ten-minute mark.

After the break, the Cidian side pushed up in defence, but the tactical adjustment produced no result. The red and whites continued to find the net with ease, while the visitors’ attacking mistakes prevented them from reducing the deficit. A seven-metre throw saved by Guillermo Villanueva, who replaced an ineffective Daniel Santamaría, followed by a numerical advantage, gave the Burgos side an opportunity to close the gap. However, the run was 1-0 to the home side, who returned to a five-goal lead (11-6). Matheus de Novais suffered an injury that prevented him from returning to the 40×20 court. Half-time arrived with the scoreboard reading 13-11.

After the teams returned from the dressing rooms, Dani Martínez increased his save percentage and halted the Castilla and León side’s attempts to mount a comeback. He was joined by Juani Villarreal, who, despite coming on only for penalties, managed to save a crucial throw from Miguel Malo. As in the first half, Samuel Trives stopped the match around the ten-minute mark, with the score at 17-14. The break had no effect either: the home side produced a 3-1 run to extend their lead to 20-15. The Porteños’ new biggest advantage came in the 43rd minute, when they moved six clear (21-15). Several Cidian counter-attacks forced Sergio Mallo to stop the match with the score at 21-18, midway through the second half.

In the final minutes, the visitors flirted with a comeback, but at no point did they manage to reduce the deficit to fewer than three goals. The red-and-white defence locked down, and the new seven-goal maximum (27-20), with less than seven minutes remaining, finally swung the match in the Valencians’ favour. The final moments saw an exchange of goals that slightly softened the result to the final 28-24.

With this victory, Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto secure third place in the overall standings and gain the head-to-head goal difference against UBU San Pablo Burgos 2031, with 32 points in total. They also move temporarily into second place, pending Fundación Agustinos Alicante’s result away to Club Cisne Colegio Los Sauces.

Their next fixture will be away against Confía Balonmano Base Oviedo, next Saturday from 18:30 at the Vallobín Sports Centre.

MATCH DETAILS:

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto (28): Juani Villarreal (-), Marcos Castañeda (-), Olivares (1), Paco Ruiz (4), Jakob Pelko (2), Dani Martínez (-), Pozzer (3), Arnau Fernández (1), Gonzalo (1), David García (1), Matheus de Novais (3), Macri Pérez (-), Serradilla (3), Capitán (5), Carlos Martín (-), Teixidor (4).

UBU San Pablo Burgos 2031 (24): João Furtado (4), Nassim Bellahcene (-), Pablo Gómez (-), Tomás Moreira (1), Jaime Fernández (2), Marcos García (2), Sergio Sarasola (-), Gullermo Villanueva (-), Jaime González (5), Fabrizio Casanova (1), Miguel Malo (5), Pedro Martins (2), Daniel Santamaría (-), Brian Estebánez (-), Adrián Sánchez (1), Asier Pedroarena (1).

Referees: Pablo San Emeterio de la Fuente and Javier Ariño Saiz.

Exclusions: Alex Pozzer, Alberto Serradilla and Pedro Martins for two minutes, and Samuel Trives by means of a yellow card.

Scores: 3-1, 6-2, 9-5, 10-6, 11-7, 13-11 (half-time); 14-12, 17-14, 21-17, 24-20, 27-21 and 28-24 (full-time).

Incidents: Match from the 22nd round of the Men's Silver Division, played at the Port de Sagunt Pavilion in front of approximately 1,400 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.