0-0. IBIZA RETURNS FROM A WET AND WINDY CORUXO WITH A POINT
Pablo Alfaro has made a habit of stressing the importance of approaching matches in Second Division B with a lot of patience. At the O Vao stadium, at noon today, the climate was anything but inviting. The lashing rain and strong wind were equally as much protagonists as the two teams on the pitch in a match which ended in a goalless draw.
The match was characterised by the physicality shown by both teams who tried, but could not break the deadlock over the course of 90 minutes. Ibiza, for its part, had the majority of possession in the first half which saw goalkeeper Germán suffer a knock to the head early on in the encounter. He was treated by the club’s physios and given a turban to protect the cut on his head.
The game had barely gotten underway when Rodado tried his luck in the first minute with a long-range effort to send a first warning signal to the opposition and its keeper. On 30 minutes, Javi Lara deliverer a delightful cross and found the head of Javi Pérez who was perfectly positioned to put Ibiza in the lead. He couldn’t keep his header down and get it on target, however. Shortly after, it was Morillas and Núñez who also fired off shots from distance which put the Coruxo defence under pressure. On the stroke or half-time, it was Javi Pérez once again who took aim at Coruxo’s goal but eventually saw his effort deflected to the relief of opposition keeper Alberto.
In the second half, the home side came out of the dressing room by taking the initiative with some direct play during one of the locals’ best spells of the match. Their efforts, however, were thwarted time and time again by Gonzalo, who intervened brilliantly on several occasions, adding to a very solid and convincing performance by the veteran defender. Working hard up front, Rodado was active in chasing balls and being a handful for Coruxo’s defenders who brought him down on the periphery of the box. However, what seemed to be a clear-cut foul, was not considered to be an infringement on Ibiza’s number 9 by the referee.
What followed were a series of substitutions on both ends in an effort to add some spark to a match that was an extremely tough and physical battle. For Ibiza, Carbia came on for Raí on the right attacking wing. Shortly after, and passing the hour mark, Javi Lara made way for Arranz before Diego Mendoza took Sergio Cirio’s place up front. Ibiza maintained its attacking efforts having made these changes and was awarded a number of free kicks late in the piece. Unfortunately, none of the set-pieces resulted in clear-cut goalscoring chances to snatch a win at the death.
Overall, the match was a very even and fiercely disputed encounter during which neither the home side or away team managed get all three points. With the final whistle sounding, Ibiza secured a good point away from home at a very challenging and difficult ground against one of the division’s tougher opponents.
