With a short squad due to injuries, the CICAR Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife faced AtticGo Balonmano Elche on Tuesday, a rival that was on an upward trend and had qualified for the quarterfinals of the EHF European Cup the previous weekend. San José Obrero put up a fight at all times and did not make things easy for the Elche team, ultimately falling by a close score of 23 to 21.
The match began in the best possible way for the interests of CICAR Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife. Without rushing their attacking plays and with a defense that didn't allow the opponent's quick moves, the Lanzarote players put the score at 0-3 with goals from Alba Tort (2) and Gema Trujillo. It took AtticGo Balonmano Elche more than five minutes to breach the goal defended by Irene Sánchez.
Two turnovers in attack and two counter-attacks allowed AtticGo Balonmano Elche to complete a 4-0 run and take the lead for the first time (5-4). CICAR Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife went many minutes without being able to breach the goal defended by Nicole Morales. Past the halfway point of the first half, Patricia Méndez converted a seven-meter throw to make it 8-5, prompting Carlos Britos to call the first timeout.
With six minutes left before halftime, AtticGo Balonmano Elche extended their lead to five goals (12-7), the largest difference up to that point. CICAR Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife's reaction came in the final minutes, reaching halftime with the score in favor of the home team at 14 to 11In the first minutes of the second half, the ejections of Valheria Valdovinos and Mornesa Tensa left the team with four players on the court, a circumstance that was taken advantage of by AtticGo Balonmano Elche to regain a five-goal lead (16-11). CICAR Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife changed its attacking system and began to play with two pivots, not allowing the opponent to widen the gap on the scoreboard, even having several attacks to get within three goals.Despite going down by seven goals, CICAR Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife showed character in the final minutes. Two goals from Carla Rivas put the score at 23-20, and a defensive recovery allowed for a quick counter-attack that Marilia Correia couldn't finish, sending her shot high
With the score at 23 to 21, the match at Esperanza Lag came to an end, with CICAR Lanzarote Ciudad de Arrecife once again showing their growth, but it was not enough to earn points. The next league commitment will be on Sunday against Rocasa Gran Canaria, a Canarian derby that will be played from 12:00 PM at the Pabellón Municipal de Titerroy and will be broadcast by Teledeporte.