The guards say goodbye to the “play-off”

Guardés was eliminated from the fight for the title of the Women’s Handball Division of Honor in Telde (Gran Canaria). There, in the island’s Antonio Moreno pavilion, Rocasa confirmed the status of the favorite, the home team and, above all, the most rested team. Because the enormous physical and mental exhaustion resulting from the final of the European Cup ended up burdening the keeper who, however, kept his abilities until the last stage of the clash. This defeat puts an end to the season with the sixth place in the League, the semi-final of the Copa de la Reina and the continental runner-up.

The match started evenly, with an exchange of goals and, above all, defenses. Both Marisol Carratú and Ana Palomino achieved remarkable heights throughout the match, starting with the first few crossbars. However, Rocas found the arreón he was looking for midway through the first half. A 5-1 run increased the score from 4-3 to 9-4. With the accumulated exhaustion that the guard had in his legs and above all in his head, it seemed like the last straw. It wasn’t like that. The competitive nature of the group came to the fore again, so that they partially recovered (1-5) and left with only a small deficit at halftime (10-9).

After returning from the locker room, the game fell apart in the game, but not on the scoreboard. A lot of goals, but also a lot of defeats for both teams. The nerves were visible. Mainly in Rocas, who felt the pressure of being favourites, playing at home and winning yes or yes against a team that was playing its fourth game in ten days and had just lost the final with a long journey behind it. Finally there was that imbalance ten minutes before the end. Ana Seabra’s team, which took the lead on two occasions, succumbed to the onslaught of Gran Canaria and lost their heads.

That’s how the guard’s season ended. This play-off result means that their final position in the Division of Honor is the same as in the regular competition: sixth. Likewise, the team led first by Abel González and later by Ana Seabra reached the semi-finals of the Copa de la Reina and the final of the European Cup, a competition in which they were runners-up, a milestone that no Galician handball club has ever achieved.

Technical document

Rocasa – 25: Lulu Guerra (p.), Ana Palomino (p.); Melania Falcón (3), Manuela Pizzo (4), Arinegua Pérez (2), Marta Mangué, Alba Spugnini, Sayna Mbengue (8), María Gomes (3), Jennifer Lopes (1), Marta Siñol, María González, Nerea Guerra , María Zaldúa (3) Jenni Toledo and Rebeca López.

Guards – 21: Marisol Carratú (p.), Míriam Sempere (p.); África Sempere (1), Sandra Santiago (1), Nazaret Calzado, Giselle Menéndez (2), Carolina Silva, Pauli Fernández (5), Cris Cifuentes (2), Patrícia Lima (4), Estefanía Barefoot, Celia López, Elena Amores (3), Carla Gomez, Maria Sancha and Daniela Moreno (3).

MARKER EVERY 5 MIN.: 3-2, 5-3, 6-4, 9-4, 10-7, 10-9 (rest); 13-11, 14-14, 16-16, 20-18, 23-20, 25-21 (final)

THE JUDGES: José Carlos Friera and Alberto Murillo. For two minutes, they excluded the home team Rebecca López and Manuela Pizzo and the guests Paula Fernández, Carolina Silva, Cris Cifuentes and Estefanía Descalzo.