Emilio Cañedo, coach of Avilés, made it clear in the press conference after the blue and white draw against Langreo (2-2). “We have to improve that forcefulness when defending. Rivals with very little do us a lot of damage,” said the Oviedo coach, visibly affected by his team’s third draw this season. And the thing is that the team from Aviles has not quite got its act together and part of the blame lies with the defense. Currently, the blue and white team have the seventh worst defense in their group, with seven goals conceded, far behind the rest of the promotion favorites such as Zamora and Pontevedra.
What last year was one of the great strengths of the team, security at the back, this year has vanished. The centre-back pair that closed at the end of last season, Mayorga and Morcillo, are still looking for replacements. From Madrid and from Valencia they formed a very complementary duo, which served to give Avilés key tranquility. With them at their back, the blue and white game could be deployed without worrying about what was happening behind. But this year things have changed. Of the four centre-backs from the previous season, only Pedro Orfila remains on the squad. Julio Rodríguez, Mauro and Jesús del Amo landed at Suárez Puerta this summer and have not yet finished adapting to their new team. Little by little it seems that Cañedo is giving confidence to Julio and Del Amo as his starting couple, but this new pairing does not quite provide the security of yesteryear. Mauro has not yet debuted with the Aviles jersey and Orfila, who left great sensations in the matches against Racing Villalbés and Gimnástica de Torrelavega, has once again been relegated to the bench. All this back-and-forth has affected the team’s performance, which is not fully fueled in defense.
Furthermore, unlike last year, during these matches there has been a weakness in the blue and white defense. The rivals know that they can do a lot of damage to Avilés if they throw long balls behind the defense, since the Avilés defenders sin when it comes to running backwards. Cañedo’s scheme exposes a lot to his two centre-backs, who still have to finish learning their coach’s new style, and while there are disruptions that leave the opponents in very clear dangerous situations.
The data speaks for itself. In the five games that Avilés has played this year, they have not managed to keep a clean sheet in any of them. The blue and white team knead the ball and manage to dominate through possession, but when the ball is not at their feet they struggle when it comes to scoring. Right now the Avilesinos are the seventh worst defense in their group with seven goals conceded in five games. Far away are other candidates for promotion such as Zamora, who are still unbeaten, Pontevedra, who have only conceded four goals, or Compostela, who despite having a disappointing start to the year have conceded five goals.
For all this, it is urgent to work to turn Avilés’ defense into a real wall. In the world of basketball it hurts to say that great defenses win championships, and now the blue and white must subscribe to that motto if they want to get even for this bad start to the League. There is still more than enough time to turn the tables, but the defensive aspect must be a clear point of improvement for the next games. Against Cayón, the next rival of Emilio Cañedo’s team, the objective has to be clear: to achieve that first clean sheet no matter what.
The Minuto 42 club begins preparations for its anniversary
Last Sunday the Minuto 42 club offered an espicha at the Gastrobar Plazas for more than fifty people, both members of the club and supporters of Avilés. During the meal, in which there was a great atmosphere of coexistence among fans, they talked about the situation of the blue and white team, keeping the enthusiasm intact for a project that is gaining more and more followers. “The result against Langreo was a shame,” laments Jorge Tobar, president of the club, who is already preparing a trip to accompany the team to Cayón this weekend. This episode served as a prelude to the celebration of the first anniversary of the club, scheduled for next October 19.
2023-10-04 02:01:10
#Avilés #problem
