Two derbies highlighted the 12th round of the Spanish league. Mediterrani and reigning champion Barceloneta faced off in the Josip Valles Sports Center. The match ended with no winner – 7:7, which means that Mediterrani halted Barceloneta’s winning streak. Before this game, the title-holder recorded ten wins in as many games in the national championship this season.
The other big match of the day was an encounter between Barcelona and Terrassa. Barcelona celebrated a 12:10 victory.
Spanish League 2019/20, Day 12
Mediterrani – Barceloneta 7:7 (2:2, 0:1, 1:2, 4:2)
Mediterrani: Dutch 3, Minguell 2, Roca 1, Garcia 1.
Barceloneta: Granados 3, Munarriz 1, Larumbe 1, Aleksic 1, Biel 1.
Barcelona – Terrassa 10:8 (3:2, 3:1, 2:4, 2:1)
Barcelona: Delgado 3, Idarraga 2, Duric 2, Goma 2, Marsal 1.
Terrassa: Barroso 3, Sanahuja 2, Pericas 1, Chico 1.
Sant Andreu – Mataro 7:8 (2:1, 1:3, 0:3, 4:1)
Sant Andreu: Bofill 2, Jeffrey Stiling 1, Tenorio 1, Paul 1, Gracia 1, Bustos 1
Mataro: Yanez 3, Guimaraes 2, Corbalan 1, Minguez 1 Codina 1.
Navarra – Catalunya 12:9 (4:2, 2:3, 4:2, 2:2)
Navarra: Contreras 5, Carales 3, Rodriguez 2, Zulaica 1, Chocarro 1.
Catalunya: Prat 4, Benjamin 3, Gascon 1, Kuznetsov 1.
Tenerife – Real Canoe 8:18 (2:5, 1:5, 4:5, 1:3)
Tenerife: Savio 6, Sousa 1, San Martin 1.
Real Canoe: A. Garia 5,De Grado 4, Alcon 2, Romero 2, Acosta 2, Navajas 1, Fernandez 1, Camarena 1.
Sabadell bye
Barceloneta entered the derby with a rejuvenated squad. Several players from the national team that won silver at the European Championships in Budapest didn’t play in the match. Barceloneta’s captain and the best goalkeeper of the European Championships Dani Lopez missed the game, as well as Blai Mallarach, Miguel De Toro and Roger Tahull.
Still, Barceloneta was leading for most of the time. The visitors had a 5:3 advantage before the last quarter. But, Mediterrani opened the fourth period with three unanswered goals to earn its first lead in the match – 6:5. Barceloneta regained an advantage with two goals from Milan Aleksic and young Biel Lara. An American Benjamin Dutch, who was voted the MVP of the game, secured a point for Mediterrani 55 seconds before the end – 7:7.
Dutch was the best scorer in the home team with three goals. Barceloneta’s and Spain’s goal-getter Alvaro Granados also netted three goals.
Barcelona and Terrassa fought a hard battle, too. Midway through the second quarter, Barcelona built a 3-goal lead (5:2) and kept the distance until the middle break. After that, Terrassa started climbing back and equalized 26 seconds before the end of the third quarter – 7:7. Adria Delgado responded immediately, and Barcelona had a slim 8:7 lead before the final quarter. Idarraga doubled Barceloneta’s advantage in the middle of the fourth quarter – 9:7 and Terrassa wasn’t able to come back.
Mataro defeated Sant Andreu thanks to a last-gasp goal 47 seconds before the end. Mataro had a substantial 7:3 advantage after the third quarter. But, Sant Andreu dominated the final period and leveled the score in the 31st minute – 7:7. Mataro’s Corbalan hit the back of the net 47 seconds from the end, and the visiting side took all three points.
1 Barceloneta 11 – 31
2 Barcelona 11 – 25
3 Sabadell 10 – 24
4 Terrassa 11 – 22
5 Mataro 11 – 21
6 Mediterrani 11 – 19
7 Sant Andreu 11 – 12
8 Real Canoe 11 – 9
9 Catalunya 11 – 9
10 Navarra 11 – 6
11 Tenerife 11 – 0
