An action-packed three weeks lie ahead before Christmas
“On the 22nd [of December] we'll play our last game [of 2019]. We have four games to play over a period of twenty days. It'll be a stop and start rhythm of playing and recovering… and that means”. That's how Pablo Alfaro classified the coming weeks and schedule of Ibiza prior to finishing a a calendar year that was aimed at consolidating the club's position in the Segunda B division. Before reaching the Christmas break, the sky blues will play three league matches and the first round of the Copa del Rey. Kicking off this intense period is the team's visit to the Dehesa de Navalcarbón this coming Sunday. At the ground of Las Rozas CF, Ibiza will play round 16 of the league on 8 December. A week later (15 December), Pablo Alfaro's side will host Marino de Luanco on the island. It'll be the first team from the Asturias region to visit the island this season and the fortress that is Can Misses, where Ibiza has won six of its eight home fixtures so far.
Next on the agenda will be one of the most exciting matches in the club's short history to date with the debut in the Copa del Rey. Once again, Ibiza will travel to Galicia to take on Pontevedra two months prior to playing at the Pasarón again as part of the league campaign. The cup tie is scheduled for 18 December and if successful, Ibiza could potentially face a team from the first or second division in the subsequent round. Whatever happens, the busy agenda will keep Ibiza focused on the next task at hand which will take place back on the White Island.
The 22 December will be extra special apart from the traditional national Christmas lottery draw as it will kick off a festive period in a spectacular way. At noon on that very Sunday, the island derby will take place between Peña Deportiva and Ibiza at the Municipal de Santa Eulària. For the first time in a decade, both teams will square off in a Segunda B match. A special morning of football awaits which will be a momentous occasion for Ibizan football as a whole.
After the short, but much deserved Christmas break, the team will prepare for its first home fixture of 2020 with the visit of Langreo (5 January, Can Misses) to kick off the new year. Until that moment arrives, and just as Pablo Alfarohighlighted in his post-match press conference on Sunday, a couple of very intense weeks of work and tough competition lie ahead where Ibiza will look to continue its mix of applying ambition and humility with the objective of maintaining its spot in the top half of group 1.
