After an impeccable regular season, the Lobas Global Atac Oviedo is being played in 60 minutes to prolong the dream of promotion to the Liga Guerreras Iberdrola handball. To reach the last step, Manolo Díaz’s team needs to win by more than three goals against Bolaños, in the second leg that will be played at the Florida Arena at 8 in the afternoon. Among Oviedo BF’s weapons will be Teresa Rodríguez, a player from the academy who has revealed herself as a winger despite the fact that her natural position is that of pivot.
“We are super-focused to get those four goals we need,” emphasizes Rodríguez, who arrived at Oviedo Women’s Handball seven years ago, after taking her first sporting steps at the Baudilio Arce school. She was always a pivot, until this season, due to team needs, Manolo Díaz placed her on the far right: “I’m more comfortable as a pivot, but I have to adapt to what the coach tells me. I am adapting based on training”.
From the winger, Rodríguez scored two goals in the first leg against Bolaños (26-23) and is confident that today there will be more to turn the tie around and play the final phase against the other three classified. “We left happy despite the defeat because three goals in handball is a difference that can be overcome,” says the player from Oviedo, who speaks of the importance of the absence of her teammate Celia Rojo, who is out for a long time: “She is our captain, important in the track and off it, but we are going to give everything to get through”.
Teresa Rodríguez also believes that the environmental factor can be decisive: “At home we are very strong and the fans will be just another player. I hope the pavilion is full because playing the second leg on our court has to be a plus”. She acknowledges that a promotion to the top flight would be special for her, since she has not known another club: “Since I was little, my dream is to reach the top with Oviedo.”
To reach the final league, Lobas Oviedo would also be worth three goals as long as Bolaños gets less than the 23 scored by the women from Oviedo in the first leg. In the event that the final score is 26-23, an extension of two periods of five minutes would be played. One of the key players in the first game was Brenda Torres, who scored 12 of the 23 goals from Oviedo, she is also optimistic.
“We face it with confidence. Despite the fact that Bolaños is a great rival, which we already saw in the first leg that they took advantage of us, we will try to go through to the final phase”, says Torres. The striker also hopes that there will be many fans, whom the club asks to come dressed in blue. Members will have free access to the Florida Arena. Tickets for the public will cost five euros for adults and two euros for under-18s.
