MADRID, 24 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish women’s handball team lost this Friday 29-31 against Japan in a friendly match, accusing the last minute loss of Alexandrina ‘Shandy’ Barbosa at the start of the Spanish International Tournament (TIE), played at the Palace of Sports of Santander as a preparatory event for the imminent World Championship.
In Cantabria, the players trained by Ambros Martín did not find much fluidity in attack, despite taking the lead on the scoreboard in the first minutes. The strategy of playing the pivot with Kaba Gassama did not bear fruit, while Haruno Sasaki did pierce the goal defended by Merche Castellanos during the first half.
Not in vain, Shigeo Kusumoto’s pupils took the lead 8-9 after a quarter of an hour, giving their first warning. Although the ‘Guerreras’ came back immediately, before the break they conceded a 2-6 run that complicated their future in a match with bad feelings also in defense. Meanwhile, in attack Paula Arcos began to stand out especially.
Several turnovers at key moments meant that the Japanese reached the intermission with a lead of +2 (15-17), which barely fluctuated during the second act. The numerous changes by the Spanish coach hardly bothered the visiting team, well protected in their goal especially by Sakura Hauge Kametani.
Among the Spanish ranks, without the injured Seynabou Mbengue and Jennifer Gutiérrez, they were missing more contributions from ‘weapons’ such as Silvia Arderíus, a regular scorer who, however, was dry against rival goalkeepers. In fact, she made her debut in that section around the 54th minute, when it was already too late for the local comeback.
Natsumi Akiyama also wreaked havoc for Japan, who maintained their leads thanks to easy tackles to the 6-meter line. The awakening of Arderíus in the last minute and a half did not prevent the defeat of the ‘Guerreras’, whose second match in this TIE 2023 will be from 5:00 p.m. this Saturday against Argentina.