Astralpool CN Sabadell imposed its veteranity and experience in the final fours, the eleventh that it has contested in the last 13 years, to prevail over Sant Andreu (9-14) in the first semifinal and look for its seventh Champions tomorrow in the Nova Escullera pool of the CN Barcelona
The players led by David Palma did not allow themselves to be surprised by a boisterous and daring Sant Andreu, a rookie in the final four, and with a superb Irene González (5 goals) they qualified for their 10th final.
The rival in Sunday’s final (2:00 p.m.) comes from the duel between Mataró and Olympiacos, which will be played later in the same pool at CN Barcelona.
Sant Andreu and Sabadell faced each other at the Nova de la Escullera pool at CN Barcelona with the previous League duel still fresh, with the score 13-10 for the Barcelona team on matchday 10; a victory that catapulted them to the lead of the championship, after having also beaten Mataró.
However, the Vallesano team is transformed into the Champions League, its favorite tournament, since it has won 6 of the last 12 final fours, an unprecedented achievement. This is how her exit to the pool was overwhelming, overwhelming, forcing Martina Terré to work hard with three consecutive stops.
Sabadell put Terré’s goal close and found a way to score with the Italian Sofia Giustini. But the advantage only lasted 22 seconds, since in the next attack Gisela Ferré, former Sabadell player, pierced Laura Ester’s frame. Sant Andreu woke up, lost their temper, and a minute later it was another former Vallesana player, Nona Pérez, who made it 2-1 with a cross shot, taking advantage of the superiority with an extra player due to the exclusion of Keuning.
The duel was electric, back and forth, and Judith Forca scored with 1m15s left before the first quarter buzzer to make it 2-2 on her third attempt.
The start of the second quarter was once again dizzying. Sabadell hit with two goals in a row, from Bea Ortiz at 37 seconds, and from Irene González with a parabola shot that deceived Terré. The 2-4 in less than two minutes hurt Sant Andreu, who closed the gap with the Dutch Schuijt’s 3-4.
But far from adjusting the score, Sant Andreu saw the great wave of the Vallesan tsunami come upon it. Sabadell crushed the rookie with a 0-3 run in two minutes, the work of Irene González, Irene Casado and Sofia Giustini. A 3-7 with which the Barcelona team did not collapse. Far from it, since seen and unseen he responded with a 2-0 that still gave him options. Nona Pérez’s 4-7 and Elena Ruiz’s 5-7, from a penalty, gave them hope again. Although Giustini added water to the wine with the score at 5-8 with 1m37s left before half-time.
The start of the third quarter continued with the give-and-take trend. Sant Andreu struck, closing the gap with Alba Muñoz’s 6-8 from the buoy and Sabadell responded with Irene González’s 6-9 with a heeled shot. When the Barcelona team had the chance to get within 2 goals again, Ariadna Ruiz wasted a penalty, which was stopped by Laura Ester. Her sister Elena did not miss, with a very powerful penalty shot to make it 7-9 with 3m27s left in the quarter.
The dynamic continued with the 7-10 of Bea Ortiz and the reply of the 8-10 of Elena Ruiz, who once again gave life to her team and closed the quarter with a favorable partial of 3-2.
In the last quarter, a referee decision disrupted the exchange of blows. When Paula Crespí was about to take a penalty to make it 9-10 for Sant Andreu, the referees validated a previous shot by Giustini as a goal that made it 8-11. The Barcelona team was swimming against the current again. Nona Pérez closed the gap with 9-11, but Irene González, with her fourth goal, 9-12, put Sant Andreu’s dream away. Javi Aznar called a timeout to find the formula for a comeback with 5 minutes left.
However, Maica García, Sabadell’s captain, appeared with 3 minutes left to score with a 9-13 advantage that put the Vallesanas on the path to their seventh Champions League. Waiting for a rival, who would come out of Mataró-Olympiacos in the second semi-final.
CN Sant Andreu: Martina Terré (Andrea Lorca); Queralt Antón (-), Roline Maria Schuijt (1), Ari Ruiz (-), Gisel·la Farré (1), Nona Pérez (3), Marina Cordobés (-), Alba Muñoz (1), Paula Crespí (-) , Elena Ruiz (3, 1p), Maria Palacio (-) and Maria Bogachenko (-).
Astralpool CN Sabadell: Laura Ester (Mar Carrasco); Matilde Ortiz (-), Paula Leitón (-), Van der Sloot (-), Maartje Keuning (-), Irene Casado (1), Sofia Giustini (4), Maica García (1), Judith Forca (1), Bea Ortiz (2), Ona Jurado (-) and Irene González (5).
Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA) and Michiel Zwart (PB). They excluded Paula Crespí for Sant Andreu and Van der Sloot, Keuning for Sabadell.
Partials: 2-2, 3-6, 3-2, 1-4.
