Portland vs Chambery: no Balic, no Richardson

The handball fans of Pamplona were disappointed last weekend. Portland and Chambery are two good teams anyway, but everybody was waiting for a special face to face: Richardson vs Balic. However, two knees injuries of the two players prevented them to meet on court and the match turned into a “normal” game.

Spanish team won after a very good second half, when Portland could take a lead with a better offensive performance. Matosevic and Ruesga were the stars of Portland and Narcisse was the most effective player of Chambery Savoie. At the end Portland won the “Memorial Jose Maria Elso” friendly tournament.

Cabanas tried to give the chance for all the players. Portland chose a strong 6-0 defence to take control of the game, but the Spanish attack was not very effective. Kjelling, Jorgensen or Malmagro were not able to beat the 5-1 French defence. Chambery equalised with fast breaks and it was a draw at halftime.

New goalie impresses Cabanas

Matosevic came in the Portland goal for the second half. The Croatian made spectacular saves and this good performance helped a lot. Portland took the lead with easy fast breaks. Though the Spanish side did not improve much in attack, Carlos Ruesga had his great moments. The Spanish player scored three unbelievable goals that forced standing ovation out of the supporters.

The fans enjoyed the show and Javier Cabanas did too. The Spanish coach was happy because of his players:

“It was the first match of pre-season when the result was important already. We must improve in attack, but Ivano Balic was missing and he is very important for us. I’m happy for Matosevic too. Some people thought that we do not have good quality goalkeepers, but Valter will be a surprise to many. Tomas Svensson and Matosevic give us different things and they make a very good goalkeeper pair.”

Portland will play two more matches before the beginning of Asobal League and Champions League.