This Saturday's match of Balonmano Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife was presented as an anticipated "final", needing the victory against Amenabar Zarautz to not fall behind in the fight for permanence in the Men's Silver Honor Division. Despite not having a good first half in attack, the men's team of San José Obrero reacted in the second half and was able to turn around a seven-goal disadvantage, to score the second victory of the season by 28 to 24.
The match did not start well for Balonmano Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife, conceding a partial score of 0 to 3 in the first minutes, and once again showing shortcomings in attack. An advantage that grew with the passing of the minutes for Amenabar Zarautz, reaching a difference of six goals in the middle of the first half. The goals of Alberto Aguirrezabalaga and Beñat Manterola put the 3 to 9 on the scoreboard.
In defense, Balonmano Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife was not playing badly, but the main problems came in attack. Poor selection in the shots, hasty actions and insistence on attacking through the center, the rockiest area of the rival's defense. The alarms went off with seven minutes left for the end of the first half, with Oihan Balenciaga scoring to put the 4 to 11 on the scoreboard.
The timeout requested by Samuel Trives helped his team react timidly in the final minutes of the first half. The goals of Oscar Silva, Mauro Jaureguiberry and Joel Armas, put the 7 to 11 on the scoreboard, and that allowed the public to start believing in the comeback. With the score of 9 to 13, the first half came to an end.
The second half was another story for Balonmano Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife, putting on their work clothes in defense and attacking with much more criteria. In addition, Javi Santana reappeared under the posts after his return to the team was confirmed this week, and the goalkeeper from Gran Canaria made very meritorious interventions in the decisive moments of the match.
Balonmano Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife began to circulate the ball better in attack, and Oscar Silva on the right wing found a corridor for the one-on-one. Before the halfway point of the second half, Joel Armas scored from the left wing, putting the equality on the scoreboard for the first time (16-16).
After several attacks in which San José Obrero had the opportunity to take the lead on the scoreboard, it was Rafa Robayna, in the 19th minute, with a shot from the left wing, who put his team ahead for the first time (21-20). Amenabar Zarautz had more and more problems to overcome the defense of the local team, seeing how the match began to slip out of their hands.
The goals of Javi Aragón and Acoidán Martín ended up sealing the match with two minutes left, and it was Acoidán Martín himself who scored the last goal of the match to end up lifting the fans from their seats. With the result of 28 to 24, Balonmano Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife added the second victory of the season in the Men's Silver Honor Division.
Technical Sheet
Balonmano Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife (28): Javi de la Cruz, Rafa Robayna (2), Acoidán Martín (3), Javi Aragón (2), Ander Iriarte (1), Daniel Csanyi and Ángel Iglesias (3) -starting team- Javi Santana, Mauro Jaureguiberry (4), Joel Peraza, Joel Armas (4), Abián Martín (2), Marcos Santiago, Óscar Silva (7) and Carlos González. Coach: Samuel Trives
Amenabar Zarautz (24): Jon Echevarría, Oihan Etxeberría (1), Alberto Aguirrezabalaga (8), Aimar Unanue (3), Beñat Manterola (2), Aitor Zulaika (4) and Peru Iraeta (1) -starting team- Paulo Ostolaza, Iker Ortiz (1), Julen Eizaguirre, Oihan Balenciaga (3), Asier Lerchundi, Eneko Iruretagoyena, Ekaitz Etxabe (1). Coach: Mikel Alzaga
Partial scores every 5 minutes: 1-3, 1-5, 3-6, 3-9, 6-11, 9-13 (break) 12-15, 13-15, 17-17, 21-20, 24-23, 28-24 (final)
Referees: Enrique Pérez González and Luis Díaz-Flores Gómez-Calcerrada, from the Madrid Committee. They excluded Joel Peraza (2), Acoidán Martín (1) and Oscar Silva (1) for Balonmano Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife and Oihan Etxeberría (1) and Peru Iraeta (1) for Amenabar Zarautz.
Incidents: Titerroy Municipal Pavilion, about 200 spectators. Match corresponding to the seventh day of the Men's Silver Honor Division.
