Those attending the Santa Lucía fair that Zumarraga and Urretxu celebrate together every December 13 see fewer and fewer specimens … equines in an event historically characterized by the presence of mares and horses among the livestock. Maybe there are some complaints from that point of view on the part of the baserritarras. On the other hand, those who went to the Ederrena in the afternoon left the fronton satiated by the number of hits: 851 in total in a stellar 82 minutes that ended with the victory of Artola and Imaz over Zabala and Martija by 22-15 on the third day of the Couples Championship.
Out of the television spotlight, in an atmosphere with a festive flavor, almost from another time, with tickets sold out for a month. The four pelotaris worked overtime, among whom perhaps the jackpot belonged to Ander Imaz, who was sacrificed from start to finish. He withstood the attacks of Javier Zabala who missed grace and spark in the material.
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game time
82 minutes and 37 seconds. -
Good shots
851. -
So many serve
Artola, 0. Zabala, 1. -
Serving faults
Artola, 0. Zabala, 1. -
So many at stake
Artola, 13. Imaz, 4. Zabala, 8. Martija, 0. -
so many lost
Artola, 4. Imaz, 2. Zabala, 4. Martija, 0. -
Marker
1-0, 1-3, 2-3, 2-4, 4-4, 4-6, 11-6, 11-9, 12-9, 12-11, 13-11, 13-12, 17-12, 17-14, 20-14, 20-15 y 22-15. -
Exit odds
trend by Zabala and Martija. 80 to 100 below. -
incidences
packed to bursting at the Ederrena in Urretxu on the occasion of the traditional Saint Lucia Day festival. 650 spectators. Many people were left without a seat in the previous weeks. Festive atmosphere.
The long exchanges ended up wasting the balls and the Oiartzuarra defender moved like a fish in water, supported at all times by a not only dedicated Iñaki Artola. Also more decisive than the Riojan striker when it came to finishing the goal.
Zabala’s attacks from behind collided with the Numantine defense of Imaz, who maintained a sacrificed tuya mia with Martija. They have provided dozens of close duels in recent editions of Couples, some even with txapelas at stake. Almost all of them are characterized by balance, equality, alternating dominance and the consistency of both.
They go from 4-6 to 11-6
Zabala and Martija started a little better than Baiko’s team and had three short leads of two goals. The panorama began to change from 4-6 in favor of Aspe. Artola and Imaz turned the score around with a 7-0 run to go ahead 11-6. They managed that income and stopped a couple of reactions from their opponents in their tracks. Their approaches to a goal at 12-11 and 13-12 were on the verge of hypothetical ties, a prelude to the definitive growth spurt of the winning duo.
Somewhat more pressured in the classification than their rivals from yesterday, Artola and Imaz add the second point and join a large group of pursuers of the leaders. When this afternoon’s game concludes in Mallabia there will be two pairs above the others with three points each and five chasing ones away from a victory, an unequivocal sign of the equality that currently presides over the first round.
