Barakaldo wants to definitively forget what happened in Lezama. The Gualdinegro team felt very harmed by the referee’s performance against Bilbao Athletic, which … They beat him 2-0, after suffering two expulsions. “Losing in such a special match and with the hope that we were going, is a blow, also because of how the match took place, because there were many circumstances that did not allow you to compete on equality,” Imanol de la Sota tells EL CORREO, who continues to believe that “a series of decisions conditioned the match.”
The factory coach recognizes that, due to the background and the forms, “it has taken a little longer to recover, but this is football and we are already thinking about what is coming.” The only way to turn the page is to achieve a victory immediately afterwards. This would show that Barakaldo is still in a great moment. The same one that made him register three consecutive victories, before his visit to Lezama. It will not be an easy task to return to the winning path. Tomorrow at 6:15 p.m. they face Cacereño at home, which is in relegation positions, but has won its last two games.
Furthermore, the Left Bank team arrives at this challenge greatly diminished by casualties. Ibon Ispizua and Iker Pedernales will not be able to be there due to suspension. Meanwhile, Javier Vicario, Iker Ropero, Eric Pérez and Iván Castillo, who has not fully recovered from his acute gastroenteritis, will not be there either due to physical problems. Furthermore, De la Sota adds that there is “another footballer among cottons”, without wanting to give further clues. Meanwhile, Beñat de Jesús could return to the squad, although he will not be in the game, since he still has some discomfort.
This situation opens the door for Iker Fernández, a youth goalkeeper who already completed the preseason with the first team and who will now enter the fray. Likewise, in the absence of Pedernales and De Jesús, Markel Arana will most likely play at right back. Despite this situation, Imanol de la Sota is convinced that “there is a lot of competitiveness and, even if there are casualties, we continue to compete.” It will be time to prove it on the green, against a Cacereño team that is seventeenth in the standings, with seven points less than Barakaldo.
The Gualdinegros coach highlights that “in this category there is nothing simple and, at this point in the season, facing a team that needs to score becomes even more dangerous.” In addition, he emphasizes that they will have “that point of confidence”, due to their last two victories against Arenas (2-0) and Ourense (0-1). “It is a team that, in recent games, has been more practical, trying to expose itself less, being more together and taking the games to direct play, duels and second plays, they have protected themselves more and are competing well,” De la Sota explains.
Aim; 45 points
That style of play could be one of the reasons why Cacereño has better numbers away from home than at home. It is the worst local team in the group with eight points, while in its outings it has added fourteen. This could be a golden opportunity for Barakaldo to set one goal or another. Currently, they are four points from the play-off and seven above the relegation places. In that sense, according to the factory technician, “in this category, the vast majority, removing the seven or eight teams that make their squads with the objective of play-off and promotion, the rest have the objective of adding 45 or 46 points.” “He who gets them early, puts himself in a good mood and can get excited,” he adds.
