There was a lot of excitement in the eighth round of the Spanish League.
Only one game was a one-sided contest – Barceloneta beat Mataro by eight goals. All the other matches were very interesting.
Terrassa defeated Barcelona in the derby of the day (12:10). Sabadell kept a perfect record, but the league leader found it hard to beat Caballa.
Penalty shootouts decided winners in two games.
2022/23 Spanish League, Day 8
Terrassa – Barcelona 12:10 (3:3, 3:0, 3:5, 3:2)
Terrassa: Chico 3, F.Sanchez 2, Flores 2, Alarcon 1, Delgado 1, Comas 1, De Lera 1, Rodriguez 1.
Barcelona: R.Lopez 5, Asensio 2, Goma 2, Cupido 1.
Sabadell – Caballa 11:9 (4:3, 2:4, 3:0, 2:2)
Sabadell: Gil 2, Bertran 2, Bonet 2, Veich 1, Valera 1, Cabanas 1, Averka 1, D. Banicevic 1.
Caballa: Molina 4, Caracuel 2, Pardon 1, Takacs 1, S. Fernandez 1.
Mediterrani – Sant Andreu 11:10 (3:1, 2:1, 2:3, 1:3, PSO 3:2)
Mediterrani: A.Garcia 3, Prat 3, Linares 1, Corres 1, Roca 1, Radic 1, Pueyo 1.
Sant Andreu: Patchaliev 2, Bargallo 2, Montes 2, Chmyr 1, Tenorio 1, Frigola 1, Yanez 1.
Barceloneta – Mataro 14:6 (4:2, 5:2, 2:1, 3:1)
Barceloneta: Tahull 3, Bustos 3, Munarriz 2, Biel 2, Larumbe 1, Famera 1, Fernandez 1, Perrone 1.
Mataro:Daura 4, Cuacos 2.
Real Canoe – Rubi 13:11 (3:0, 2:3, 3:3, 1:3, PSO 4:2)
Real: Gutierrez 3, Romero 3, M.J. Gonzalez 3, Nuno 1,J. Jimenez 1, A. Jimenez 1, V.Fernandez 1.
Rubi: S.Pina 2, Edward 2 Fenoy 2, I. Pina 2, , Andion 1, Martins 1, Moyano 1.
Catalunya – Tenerife 9:7 (2:2, 2:0, 3:2, 2:3)
Catalunya: Lopez-Escribano 3, Gomila 2, Cukrov 1, S.Gonzalez 1, Santiveri 1, Alvarino 1.
Tenerife: Magrina 2, Espanol 2, Salvador 1, Alegre 1, Diaz 1.
Terrassa bounced back after a convincing 9:16 loss to Barceloneta last week. It beat and caught up with Barcelona in points. Each team has five wins now. The first quarter saw six goals, and the sides were tied at 3:3. The hosts took control after the first break. They kept Barcelona scoreless while it netted three goals and entered the second half leading 6:3. They stretched the margin to four at the beginning of the third quarter (7:3). Still, Terrassa couldn’t keep a big lead. Barceloneta produced a 6:2 run and leveled at 9:9 (27th minute). But, Terrassa retook control. The hosts scored three unanswered goals within 120 seconds and secured a safe 12:9 advantage a minute and three seconds before the end.
The league leader Sabadell struggled, but it beat newcomer Caballa. Sabadell, the big favorite in this game, was always almost in front, but Caballa didn’t surrender. The visitors leveled at 4:4, 5:5, and 6:6 in the second quarter. A minute before the end of the first half, Caballa went ahead – 7:6. Sabadell water polo players regrouped themselves and produced a 4:0 series. The leader had a 10:7 advantage in the 25th minute. Caballa reduced the gap in the remaining time.
Barceloneta didn’t wait long to prove which team the favorite was in the game against Mataro. After eight minutes of play, the reigning champion had a 2-goal advantage and scored four straight goals in the second quarter to jump to a comfortable 8:2 advantage.
Mediterrani earned a win against Sant Andreu after a penalty shootout. But, the hosts could take the points earlier. In the third quarter, they had a 6:2, 7:3 and 8:6 lead. Still, they couldn’t keep the advantage. Sant Andreu leveled at 8:8 and prolonged the match, but it fell in a penalty shoot.
The water polo fans in Madrid witnessed the second penalty shootout of the day. Real Canoe beat Rubi. It was an even contest, although Real opened the game with a 3:0 advantage. Rubi chased the hosts and leveled at 8:8 in the 30th minute. Just 17 seconds before the end, Romero gave Real a 9:8 lead. Still, that wasn’t the end. Sergi Pina beat the buzzer, he leveled at 9:9 with two seconds to go, and the match entered a shootout. Real was better in the penalty series, so Rubi remains the only winless team.
The surprise of the day was Catalunya’s victory over Tenerife. The Catalans had only three points before the eighth round. Tenerife, one of the Spanish clubs in the LEN cups, started well and took a 2:1 lead. Still, Catalunya was 4:2 up at halftime. The visitors leveled at 4:4, but Catalunya responded with four goals to build an 8:4 lead. Tenerife started coming back again and cut the deficit to one with 45 seconds to go. Still, Catalunya forced an exclusion in the next possession. Santiveri converted a 6 on 5 for 9:7 and decided everything.
1.Sabadell 8 – 24
2. Barceloneta 8 – 21
3.Mataro 8 – 18
4. Terrassa 8 – 18
5. Barcelona 8 – 15
6. Tenerife 7 – 15
7. Mediterrani 8 – 12
8. Real Canoe 8 – 6
9. Catalunya 8 – 6
10.Caballa 8 – 3
11.Sant Andreu 7 – 3
12. Rubi 8 – 0
