Cervera has lived two experiences as Oviedo coach with one less player on the field. Both satisfactory. In the first, the team resisted 50 minutes against the favorite Granada and hit the one they had, with Enrich’s subtle heel shot into the net (1-0). In the second, on the cold grass of El Alcoraz, the team remained upright for more than half an hour against a Huesca who did not take advantage of their superiority (1-1). It does not seem that the two experiences are accidental: Oviedo is a bone and grows in the face of adversity.
The blue team had already been correct with ten men against those of Ziganda, but it was the blow suffered with the expulsion of Luismi when the best Oviedista version came to light. Oviedo had to settle for one point, which continues to leave them in the lukewarm zone, still far from the top positions in the table. But it is a point with a sweet aftertaste.
Because it also came just a couple of weeks after the worst experience of the Cervera stage: the 3-1 in Andorra. That day the alarms went off. The team continued to carburize in the Tartiere, intractable as always, but things seemed to go wrong outside. There were serious dangers in becoming a two-faced team, bracing at home and scattering away. That is why the image of El Alcoraz is so important. Because the team showed that it can also show its claws outside.
Oviedo looked like that solid team that the coach asks for in all scenarios. The desired image was explained a few weeks ago by Cervera himself, when the Blues came close to winning in Ponferrada. The coach said that he would always like to play like this at home. In Huesca, that image was improved at times.
Own names
The draw also strengthens some footballers. In case there was any doubt, Abel Bretones has come to stay. It is no longer that he is indisputable on the Oviedo side, it is that he happens to be one of the most fit footballers in the Second Division in his position. In Huesca he offered another exhibition in all facets. He has such a display that he can cover the entire flank and his companion on the left has an easier life. It happened to Montoro against Alavés and Sangalli repeated in Huesca.
Koba’s paramount importance is also underlined when the team has the ball. The different plays, including the counterattack that gave rise to the penalty, were born when the team managed to tame the ball and serve it to the Frenchman. It still has gaps, especially when the game is blown up, and it still doesn’t achieve the desired continuity. But he is the most talented footballer available to Cervera. If the coach manages to instill in him that winning gene for his teams, he can be a footballer who makes a difference.
Another unexpected hero in Huesca was Mángel. The youth squad player entered the scene at the worst possible moment, after Luismi’s red card, and took control from the outset. He won disputes, as always, but this time he showed a pose with the ball worthy of a veteran with countless battles behind him. His impact was instantaneous in the game and the feeling is that he is going further.
