The days go by and UD Ibiza continues to move a little further from salvation every week. Those of Lucas Alcaraz fell defeated this Sunday in his visit to Mendizorroza 4-2 against Deportivo Alavés in a match in which the light blues offered many facilities in the first half and in which they also had their chances of scoring in the second half, from which they ended up saying goodbye when they ended up with nine players on the field due to the expulsions of the central defenders Grillo and Mauro in the final stretch of the clash.
With this new defeat, the Ibizan team continues as bottom of LaLiga SmartBank with 19 points, far from permanence. And that the match in Mendizorroza started with a sparkling and biting UD Ibiza, who generated their first goal play a minute into the game, with an intentional shot by Suleiman, after a pass from Herrera, after controlling, cutting to the edge of the area and shooting in search of the squad, although his shot ran into the success of the local goalkeeper, who cleared the ball as best he could for a corner.
However, after 11 minutes, the first pitcher of cold water arrived for those from Alcaraz. After a steal and a counter by Toni Moya, in which he penetrated through the center of the rear up to the very front to leave it to Luis Rioja, who was only to his left, to score the 1-0 cross shot. A serious mistake by UD Ibiza with a loss in the central circle, which was badly defended and in which they gave many facilities to the attackers from Alava.
With that goal, the locals became the owners of the game. And in the 14th minute, Rober, from a distance, tried his luck with a long shot, which Fuzato saved without excessive complications.
Alavés continued to percussion in attack and a minute later, in a lateral free kick, they brought danger again, although the cross to the Ibiza area did not find a finisher.
concatenation of errors
Shortly after, in the 22nd minute, the goal came from a set piece for the people from Vitoria. The free kick was thrown by Rioja, who from the right side made it 2-0 with a direct shot to the near post, which slipped through the middle of the barrier, which Ekain then failed to clear and then went into the goal , to the surprise of a Fuzato who ate the action as the icing on the cake to a serious concatenation of errors from the celestial rear.
If the accumulation of gifts from the islanders had not been enough, in the 34th minute, another new error when leaving the ball led to another robbery in the midfield and a new quick counterattack by Alavés, which turned into a penalty committed by Appin for tripping an opponent when he was about to face Fuzato. Rioja, once again, scored the maximum penalty with class, with a shot close to the post, to score a personal hat-trick and to make Mendizorroza’s score rise to 3-0.
With everything uphill for the second half, however, some light came for UD Ibiza, when Pape Diop closed the gap (3-1), in the 40th minute, with a powerful shot from the front, after hunting a rebound , which brushed against a defender and ended up slipping into the local frame after hitting the crossbar.
Alavés made up for it with another dangerous play, in the 42nd minute, which Villalibre, after receiving in the light blue area, hit in a twist to the opposite post, but his shot went wide, on the last occasion for the locals before the break.
The second half began with a change in the scheme and in the initial game plan for UD Ibiza, with Morante replacing Pape Diop, Mauro replacing Martín Pascual, Javi Vázquez replacing Escobar and Bogusz replacing Suleiman.
This is how things were when, in the 48th minute, in an arrival of the islanders, in an action that seemed inconsequential, the referee awarded a penalty in favor of UD Ibiza, after being called for consultation by the VAR to judge a demolition of Ekain, who finally decreed the maximum penalty.
Ekain himself, with an accurate shot to the right, coldly converted the 3-2 and got the Ibizans back into the game, with options to fight for a better result.
unfinished reaction
In minute 57, a loose ball in a second play in the visitors’ area became another clear chance for Alavés, with a shot by Villalibre at the turn, which Fuzato cleared the danger with a great intervention.
After minute 60, UD Ibiza took a step forward and began to press and have more prominence with the ball against an Alavés team that seemed not to be comfortable with the situation. UD Ibiza found themselves with more possession, gained ground and went for the tie. The clash was leading to a round trip battle, but with many inaccuracies on the part of both contenders.
From then on, Alcaraz’s men were stronger, but in the 84th minute, when they faced the final stretch with options to fight for the tie, the match became even more uphill, since Grillo saw the red card for a tackle untimely on Sylla.
Alavés smelled blood in the dislocated island defense and in minute 89 had the sentence, but Fuzato opportunely repelled Rioja’s shot when the goal was already sung.
In 1991, the collapse of UD Ibiza became apparent with the expulsion of Marcos Mauro, after seeing the red card and leaving the Ibizans with 9 on the field and without central defenders.
And in minute 94, Alkain, at the center of Sylla, after going at speed in a throw-in action, finished off the 4-2 with pleasure for an Alavés that ended up beating a UD Ibiza that is increasingly far from the permanence.
Lucas Alcaraz: “The goals have been our quite avoidable mistakes”
Lucas Alcaraz, coach of UD Ibiza, was upset by the defeat suffered in Mendizorroza and disgusted by the gifts to Alavés.
«From the first part we all have to leave angry. The goals have been due to our quite avoidable errors, “said the sky-blue coach, before pointing out:” We have to apologize and demand much more from ourselves. We can’t make those kinds of mistakes. They have penalized us a lot and it is something that we cannot afford.
Alcaraz, however, valued the team’s effort in the second half, although he regretted not having been more successful.
«The second part has been quite good and the team has had a great reaction. We have to fight every game without thinking about the past or the future. It is the only formula », he pointed out.
