The leader and the third classified of group A of the First National Men's Handball League faced each other on Saturday afternoon, with the duel between Attica 21 Hotels OAR Coruña and CB San José Obrero Lanzarote. The two teams played a very even match, with minimal differences on the scoreboard and in which the Galicians ended the triumphant streak of the Lanzarote team. San José Obrero was not successful in attack and ended up falling by an equal score of 22 to 21.
The match was even from the beginning, with both teams trying to develop their usual style of play on the 40x20. Mikita Liavonau, with a low hip shot, allowed San José Obrero to gain a two-goal advantage (4-6). Despite being ahead on the scoreboard, the visitors were not comfortable in attack, committing many failures in the offensive actions.
The match entered a phase of exchanging goals, with the advantage for one team and then the other. Diego Martínez put OAR Coruña ahead with nine minutes left until halftime, and then Diego Fernández established the tie. The coach of San José Obrero, Iñaki Malumbres, requested a time-out, seeing the problems his team was having in attack.
The first half ended with a seven-meter shot that Oscar Silva transformed for San José Obrero, concluding the first thirty minutes of the match with a 11-11 tie on the scoreboard. The match remained open heading into the second half.
The second period began with a 4-1 run in favor of Attica 21 Hotels OAR Coruña, with Miguel Simón scoring from the pivot to put the score at 15-12. The reaction of San José Obrero was immediate, with Carmelo Álvarez scoring from the right wing and Alexis Rodríguez, to establish the 16-15, and provoke the local coach's time-out.
After the instructions from the bench, CB San José Obrero tied the match with a goal from Carmelo Álvarez (16-16), and it seemed that little by little the Lanzarote team was taking control of the match. Nothing could be further from the truth, OAR Coruña reacted with goals from Juanka Ortiz and Diego Martínez (18-16).
San José Obrero was stuck again in attack, having to request a time-out from Iñaki Malumbres (20-17). The visitors began to play with a double mixed defense, trying to suffocate the attacks of OAR Coruña, but the Galicians made a good circulation of the ball and played all their offensive actions on the verge of being passive.
Óscar Silva's two goals in the last minute only allowed to make up the final result of the match, reaching the conclusion of the match with the result of 22 to 21. Despite the defeat, San José Obrero remains as a solid leader of the category, with 8 points ahead of Disciclín Balonmano Lalín. Next week the Lanzarote team will play again as a visitor, facing Balonmano Reconquista de Vigo.
Technical Sheet
Attica 21 Hotels OAR Coruña (22): Iago Gómez, Pablo Martínez (4), Juankar Ortiz (6), Francesco Aragona (2), Miguel Simón (4), Diego Martínez (6) and Julián López -starting team- Juan Pereira, Joel Rabade, Adrián Pérez, Yoel García and Daniel Mcnamee. Coach: Pablo Aguirregabiria
CB San José Obrero Lanzarote (21): Javi Santana, Oscar Silva (4), Alexis Rodríguez (2), Nacho López (1), Miguel Laguna, Ángel Iglesias (1) and Mikita Liavonau (3) -initial team- Roberto Molina, Rafa Robayna (1), Acoidán Martín (1), Abián Martín, Carmelo Álvarez (2), Diego Fernández (6). Coach: Iñaki Malumbres
Partial scores every 5 minutes: 2-2, 4-5, 6-6, 9-8, 9-10, 11-11 (halftime) 14-12, 16-14, 17-16, 20-17, 20-18, 22-21 (final)
Referees: Fernando Iñán Arias and José Manuel García Olavarrieta. They disqualified Francesco Aragona with a red card in the 59th minute of the match on the part of OAR Coruña. They excluded Juan Carlos Rodríguez (1) and Francesco Aragona (2) on the part of the locals and Carmelo Álvarez (1), Oscar Silva (1) and Nacho López (1) on the part of CB San José Obrero
