Segunda Focus: Back At It
I hope everyone enjoyed their Three Kings or ‘Reyes Magos’ holiday and got to watch plenty of futbol over the weekend. It’s always fun to see what gifts people get especially some of the futbolistas who like to post photos of their gifts on Twitter.
One guy who wasn’t in the holiday spirit was Celta’s Mario Bermejo who grumped earlier this week about having to play on the Reyes Magos. Celta then promptly went out and whipped up on Alcoyano 0-3 prompting calls from fans of El Celeste to schedule all road games on any type of holiday. It was a dominant performance from Celta who maintained their playoff spot.
That was actually the theme all this weekend in that the top clubs all pretty much held their positions with wins. Starting at the top, Elche were led by a magnificent Xumetra who helped power the Ilicitanos to a 2-4 win over Guadaljara. The best goal was Nicki Bille’s equalizer but it was Xumetra who did all the work setting up the Dane by cutting through the Guadalajara defense with a dazzling display. It was an easy goal got Bille who celebrated it passionately… although it would have been nice if he had acknowledged Xumetra sooner. C’mon dude.
Deportivo had their way with Xerez even though the 2-1 scoreline was a bit deceptive. What a class finish by Andres Guardado on the second Depor goal. Like I said on Friday, Depor at home are just about unbeatable. They appear to be finding their Segunda stride.
Hercules were also winner edging out Las Palmas at home 2-1. Post-match, the Pio Pio decided to skip the Reyes Magos and instead celebrate Festivus listing an airing of 10 grievances they have received this season from referees that either cost them a win or a draw. They actually had a point in Alicante though. The penalty called in Hercules’s’ favor in the 88th minute was a 50-50 ball. Bad break for the canarios.
Cordoba looked a bit sluggish from their midweek Copa doings but still beat a weak Girona side 1-0. If there is another coach whose head is on the choppiong block, pretty safe to say it is Raul Agne at Girona. Future looks grim there.
Almeria and Alcorcon played to a spirited 1-1 draw at the Santo Domingo with Leo Ulloa and Quini scoring their team’s respective goals. Alcorcon looked the better of the two and had countless opportunities in the second half to win it, but never could find the finishing touch. It’s back to Copa action this week for Alcorcon who will try to put away Levante at the Ciutat de Valencia.
Two new coaches made their debuts this weekend with mixed results. let’s start with the good. Juan Carlos Rios saw his new squad, Cartagena, take apart Huesca 2-0 in what was a very positive sign. They may be in the drop zone right now, but I don’t think it’ll last long. As for Huesca, Juan Jose Camacho didn’t get to the penalty spot so all hopes of a goal vanished there. #CamachoSeleccion
On the other side of things, Julio Velazquez lost in his debut as Villarreal B coach, 3-1 to Recreativo. Marcus Gullon gave the visitors an early lead but they couldn’t hang on. yet another goal for Sergi Enrich who ended up getting the gamewinner. The striker who is on-loan from Mallorca is having a really superb season. You people need to start paying attention to him.
Javi Guerra reminded us all why he was the 2010-2011 La Liga Weekly Segunda Focus player of the year bagging a hat trick against Sabadell in Valaldolid’s 1-4 win in Catalunya. Not only did Guerra score a hat trick, he did it in the first half, actually, the first 36 minutes to be exact.
Elsewhere in Catalunya, Barca B let three points slip away as they drew with Numancia 1-1. One guy who should maybe get a little more love around these parts is Numancia’s Javier Del Pino who scored the equalizer on Saturday. It was a pinpoint header from the 31 year old who used to be in Atletico Madrid’s youth academy. Good to see him still playing at a high level. As for the match, Barca B should have had this one. Way too many chances not to win.
Down the coast in Tarragona things look very bleak after Gimnastic dropped one to Murcia 0-2. It’s not as if Murcia dominated, they scored in the 9th and 91st, it’s just that Nastic was basically pinning their hopes on a still banged up Berry Powel. Nastic are last place and aren’t exactly showing any signs of climbing out of it.
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