Photos: Sergio Betancort
CB Lanzarote Puerto del Carmen lost this Saturday at the Tías Municipal Sports Center against Club Balonmano Elche (19-27) in a match corresponding to the first leg of the second phase of the XLI Copa de la Reina.
The team from Tías had reached this round after defeating Handbol Sant Quirze in a single match in the first phase. The fans of Puerto del Carmen were able to enjoy the presence of the best Spanish women's handball in the Tías Municipal Sports Center.
Before the start of the match, the screens of the Tías Municipal Sports Center showed a video of Vesi Nenkova from the hospital encouraging her teammates.
CB Lanzarote Puerto del Carmen faced the third team of the Liga Guerreras Iberdrola during almost the entire first half, reaching a tie almost at halftime (7-7, min. 25), but the level of the opponent began to show with the start of the second half. The coach of the Elche team began to move pieces from his long bench.
The Elche players began to exert high pressure that raised the physical demands of the match, which ended up marking the differences between the two squads. At times, the forty by twenty court of Tías seemed to lengthen due to the pressure and some two-minute expulsions to the local bench. As the minutes passed, Rocamora's team prevailed until turning the return match into a mere formality.
In the offensive facet, Keyla Hernández was the most successful with eight goals in the Elche goal. In the franjiverdes ranks, Jennifer Gutiérrez was the top scorer with six goals, well escorted by Laura Hernández and Lysa Tchaptchet, with five goals each. The excessive number of shots that ended up hitting the posts during the match was also striking.
The return match will be played in the Elche Municipal Carrus Pavilion in Elche, in the province of Alicante, on February 15, at 8:00 p.m.
CB Lanzarote Puerto del Carmen (19): Madeleine Cortez, Famara Fernández (1), Keyla Hernández (8), Mary Sánchez (3), Cristina Betancort, Suely Pinto Spencer (2), Eva Morales, Luci Betancort (2), Rosa Álvarez (2), Atteneri Morales, Neus Llorens (1) and Alba Ferrer. Coach: Miguel Ángel Lemes.
Club Balonmano Elche (27): Ekaterina Zhukova (1), Patricia Méndez, Ivet Musons (2), Nicole Alejandra Morales, Laura Hernández (5), María Flores (1), Jennifer Gutiérrez (6), María Asunción Sánchez, Lysa Tchaptchet (5), Clara Gascó (3), Ana Isabel Martínez (1) and Paula Arcos (3). Coach: Joaquín José Rocamora.
Partial scores every 5 minutes: 1-2, 3-3, 4-5, 6-7, 7-7, 9-11 (halftime) 11-13, 13-16, 15-18, 16-20, 18-24, 19-27 (final).
Referees: Miquel Florenza and Jordi Ausas. They excluded Mary Sánchez, Eva Morales and Neus Llorens for two minutes among the locals. In the ranks of Club Balonmano Elche to Ekaterina Zhukova (2), Patricia Méndez and María Flores.
