MADRID, 31 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Palacio de Deportes de León witnessed this Sunday the historic international debut of the Spanish men’s wheelchair handball team, which resulted in a 10-26 defeat against Portugal, in a match where it went from less to more.
The first half was not positive for Ricardo Alonso’s team, whose illusion was not accompanied by the necessary success to stop a more tactically worked opponent and who did not forgive the counterattack. At halftime, a clear 2-13 and the name of Emilio Sopeña as the author of the symbolic first international goal of this modality.
On the other hand, in the second half, Spain ostensibly improved its performance and found the goals of an inspired Óscar Perales, the Spanish top scorer with five goals. This reaction allowed us to see a more even game (8-13), but not enough for the Portuguese to miss the victory.
“We started a little weak, the balls weren’t going in and the rhythm of the Portuguese team has been very high. Anyway, the feelings have been good, we tried to get everyone to play in this first game, while they barely made any changes” , said Ricardo Alonso, coach and captain of the national team, in statements provided by the RFEBM.
The player praised “the experience and intensity of the second half”, where they improved “a lot”. “We try to reduce losses and be more precise in the launch and it showed. We need to make a more solid block to continue competing against other teams,” he said.