When in their first modern experience in a play-off for promotion to the First Division, the 2012-13 season, Girona lost 0-1 in the first leg of the final against Almeria, everyone saw a utopia to think about turn the tie at the Juegos del Mediterráneo. The potential of Almeria, much superior, and the physical limitations of a Girona that arrived with the tongue out confirmed it (3-0). This year, however, things are very different. Of course, Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Montilivi gives Tenerife the lead and forces Girona to win, forcing Heliodoro to move up, but that doesn’t mean it’s a mission impossible. This Girona has grown a lot and is ready, as it showed in Eibar in the semifinals, to turn an unfavorable result (0-1) in an atmosphere against Ipurua (0-2). The sensations left by the 0-0 the day before yesterday were very different from those of the first match with Eibar, in which the nerves of Girona collapsed. Against Tenerife, Michel dominated the game from top to bottom and enjoyed, few, yes, but the best chances to score. A very complete match was played by Girona, who deserved a little more luck against a team that came to secure the tie and got it.
The 0-0, therefore, forces Girona to win imperiously in Tenerife on Sunday. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No. The Girona team has been the seventh best visitor in the category in the regular season with a record of 26 points spread over 7 wins, 5 draws and 9 defeats. Of these results, the draws and defeats, of course, would not serve Girona on Sunday. Yes, they will do the 7 victories, to which we must add two more in the Cup and another in Eibar in the play-offs. In total, there have been 10 victories for Michel this year away from home and, therefore, repeating any of these results would lead to success. The ten examples have been collected in Miranda (1-2), Fuenlabrada (1-2), Real Sociedad B (1-2), Huesca (0-1), Las Palmas (1-3), Almeria ( 0-1) and Alcorcón (0-1), as well as Puertollano (1-5) and Huesca (0-1) in the Cup and Eibar (0-2) in the play-offs. Of course, except for the match against Calvo Sotelo, from the 2nd RFEF, none of Girona’s victories have been clear and convincing and in all of them it has had to suffer to ensure it. Achieving one more is the big goal of Michel in the last game of the season.
In Tenerife, while the president of the Cabildo said on Friday that he had everything ready for the celebration of the promotion, coach Lluís Miquel Ramis tried to curb the euphoria after the 0-0. “The sports cemetery is full of favorite teams. We are not, ”he said. In this sense, the numbers of Tenerife this season in the Heliodoro are not for rocket launching. The Canarian team, which, let’s remember, is the best visitor in the category, does not have any spectacular numbers at home. In fact, it is just the 12th best local team in the category with 32 points. Of the 21 league games he has played for Heliodoro, he has lost 7, results that would help Girona to move up. Mirandés, Eibar, Las Palmas, Valladolid, Almeria, Málaga and Cartagena have shown the way to Girona.
