This was another final (the umpteenth) for the men of Manolo Gonzalez. It was also for him Real Oviedo. Whoever won would take a giant step in the race to play in the play-off. The Asturian team put the Barcelonans in serious trouble in several stages of the match. Luengo scored first, Braithwaite equalized with a penalty and Cabrera gave the locals the victory. This parakeet victory comes after a month and a half without adding three points and leaves the Barcelona team four points behind second place and six above seventh.
The high number of casualties forced Manolo González to present new features in the eleven. Pere Milla and Keidi Baré They started because of the injured Jofre Carreras and Gragera. In addition, youth player Antoniu Roca was also a starter, given that Nico Melamed was sent off last day in Valladolid. Real Oviedo came out much better in the game. In the first minute of the meeting, Masca scored with a header, but the action was invalidated due to offside. The visitors came out much more intense and offensive, and in just 15 minutes of the match they had managed to add a disallowed goal and two very clear chances (one from Dani Calvo in the 12th minute and another from Colombatto in the 14th).
Oviedo was being much more dangerous and their rival was making it easy for them. Espanyol was too imprecise in the center of the field, gave away too many balls and was soft and concessive in defense. With this pretext, it was only a matter of time before the visitors scored. Thus, in the 23rd minute, Cazorla took a corner and Luengo finished off with a header to make it 0-1..
However, against all odds due to what was happening in the field, Espanyol tied with a penalty. Colombatto stepped on Keidi Baré in the area and the referee signaled the maximum penalty, which was converted by Braithwaite in the 30th minute (the Danish striker already has 21 goals this season). In the play following the goal, Puado, who took a ball on the counterattack and left his team in a situation of superiority in the play, released the ball to Waterywho, between cuts, ended up shooting at a rival player, although the action was very clear.
However, the luck and joy did not last long for the parakeets, as Dani Calvo He finished off a corner kick directly into Joan García’s goal. But, once again, divine grace appeared to Espanyol and Lax Franco pointed out that Alemao was offside, who, despite not touching the ball at any time, obstructed, according to the criteria of the Murcian referee, Brian Oliván and, therefore, prevents him from clearing the ball.
The second half started even and no one took control of the game. After half an hour of the match, it was Espanyol who did it. The parakeets took possession and they went up, but the indecision in the last meters (already common in the blue and white team) was hurting them a lot when facing goal.
With this scenario, the long-awaited (and much celebrated) goal arrived for Manolo González’s team. In the 63rd minute, Milla took a corner and Cabrera finished off with a header to put two to one. The Barcelonans were better and took advantage, from a set piece, to take the lead. Likewise, a few minutes later Martin Braithwaite had a clear shot around the corner of the area that went close to Leo Román’s right post. From there, the game became more dynamic and Oviedo took control again. In 75 Joan Garcia He starred in a great “start-stop” to clear a ball in the area with his chest. Furthermore, it was evident how much Espanyol suffered in each corner from the team from the Asturian capital, who finished off almost all of the corner kicks they had with intention.
Manolo González’s men were under pressure from Oviedo throughout the last quarter of an hour, who wanted to score and tie the game. To remedy this situation and be able to seal the victory, the Perico coach thought that the best thing for his team was to bring in a full-back and a centre-back, Oscar Gil and Victor Ruiz, in the place of a winger and a midfielder, Pere Milla and Aguado. In addition, Gastón Valles also entered, so Espanyol’s intentions were clear: to throw balls high and for the burly Uruguayan striker to try to catch them on the fly. The truth is that the tactic of Manolo Gonzalez It turned out well because his team ended up winning the match, although he was not spared from suffering.
Now, Espanyol is fourth with 65 points and is 4 points away from direct promotion. Furthermore, the parakeet team virtually seals qualification for the play-off (getting a point in the two remaining games would make it mathematical). For its part, Oviedo remains sixth and is followed, two points behind, by Sporting.
MATCH SHEET
Espanyol: Joan García, Omar, Sergi Gómez, Cabrera, Oliván (56′ Rubén Sánchez), Keidi, Aguado (80′ Gil), Antoniu Roca (65′ Bauza), Puado (80′ Gastón Valles), Pere Milla (80′ Víctor Ruiz), Braithwaite.
Oviedo: Leo Román, Viti, Cazorla, Colombatto (77′ Borja Bastón), Dani Calvo, Alemao (86′ Millán), Luengo, Seoane, Masca (65′ Paulino de la Fuente), Pomares (77′ Bretones), Borja S, (65′ Dubasin).
Goals: 0-1 Oier Luengo (23′), 1-1 Braithwaite (31′), 2-1 Cabrera (63′).
Referee: Lax Franco Salvador (murcian). He cautioned Colombatto (31′), Antoniu Roca (35′), Oliván (50′).
2024-05-20 21:50:59
#Vital #victory #Espanyol #Oviedo #fight #promotion
