Ángel Ximénez extends his curse in Cuenca (12 visits without a victory) and brings a defeat that breaks the streak of two consecutive victories. A direct rival who imposed his punch in the second half to distance himself. The painting by Paco Bustos was from most to least and he had no reaction capacity to avoid the blows.
Ángel Ximénez Puente Genil was able to recover from Cuenca’s initial 1-0 deficit thanks to the performances of Ben Tekaya in goal and Pablo Simonet in attack (1-2, min. 4). Soon, Paco Bustos’ team would take a two-goal lead thanks to good pressure and good recovery. And above all penalize the rival’s errors depending on the success. The great performance of Ben Tekaya, who was a Cuenca player, allowed Ángel Ximénez Puente Genil to take the lead with three points on the scoreboard halfway through the first half. (5-8, minutes 15).
Good minutes from the Pontanos who were comfortable in the match, with an exceptional Janosi, who pulled the team to seek the greatest possible income. However, Cuenca did not give up and fought, taking advantage of a disconnection from the visitors to come back to a point and tighten the match. They insisted more and forced the draw which would take place in the final stretch of the first half. (11-11, minutes 23). The match entered a phase of exchange of blows, with a lot of electricity from the two teams which alternated the advantage.
It was the home team that took a step forward and the roles were swapped. Cuenca managed to take two leads (15-13). Paco Bustos’ timeout two minutes from time did not work and the La Mancha team managed to maintain the advantage, which could have been larger without Ben Tekaya. Rest and a whole second half in which Paco Bustos’ men had to start in tow.
Cuenca quickly took the lead (17-13), the highest score so far (min. 32). Even if this maximum difference would widen during the second half. He reached five and eliminated Ángel Ximénez Puente Genil, who remained three minutes without scoring.Wasted opportunities from Pontano’s team, completely out of the match. He didn’t react and Cuenca stepped on the accelerator again. (24-18, minutes 41).
There was a lot of nervousness among the Pontanos which even led to the exclusion of several players like Keita. Cuenca continued to do his job, even increasing the distance to eight. Ángel Ximénez tried to add excitement to the final stretch of the match and even managed to return to four with two consecutive chances, but the local goalkeeper appeared (29-24, minutes 20). Two minutes later, José Cuenca managed to bring the lead to four. But the scoreboard was against us.
The goalkeepers were the protagonists in the final stretch, but the lack of success of Ángel Ximénez Puente Genil did not allow him to reduce the gap with Cuenca more accessible than during the entire second half. The match did not escape the La Mancha team, which maintained its lead of six or seven points at times (33-26, 27th). Severe punishment for Ángel Ximénez Puente Genil who does not break the curse of his visits to Cuenca. 12 visits and no victory
