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 THERE
was plenty of festive spirit off the
pitch as Javea's loyal fans descended
en masse once again on Benissa's
small but charming La Costa stadium
for this long-awaited local derby, a
seemingly traditional fixture for the
Christmas period. However, for all the
passion afforded by the travelling army
in the stands, on the pitch the
rojiblancos once more failed to respond
to the noisy encouragement and succumbed
to a 2-0 defeat against a side who may
well be struggling at the wrong
end of the league table but showed plenty
of fight to claim maximum points. And
so CD Javea enter the winter break boasting
just one victory in the last five matches,
a disappointing run of form which has
seen the side lose position in the race
for a play-off berth. Coach Kenny Brown
and his team have plenty of food for
thought until the next game in three
weeks time, not least how to fill the
obvious gaps left by loanees James Lindie
and Dan Harvey, both of whom have now
returned to English side Southend United.
Whatever
the reason might be, CD Javea simply
don't look like a side capable of claiming
promotion. Admittedly poor luck has
robbed the rojiblancos of two of its
brighter prospects in Javi Hernandez
and Pablo Calderón, both of whom may
well be out for the rest of the season,
but there doesn't seem to be anyone
in the current squad capable of
taking up the challenge offered by these
enforced absences. And that should worry
everyone connected with the club. Javea
appear to lack strength in depth
- the bench was almost entirely occupied
by inexperienced youth players for the
second game running - and the situation
seems unlikely to be improved unless
there is a massive injection of cash
to strengthen the squad with experience.
And how likely is that going to be in
the current climate? Therefore coach
Kenny Brown has to work with what he
has got - and that's not a lot.
Games
against Benissa tend to be far from
indicative of either side's true position
in the league table. Javea might be
lacking consistency at the moment -
the 0-0 home draw against bottom side
EMFU-L'Alcudia defied logical explanation
- but they just about remained in touching
distance of the play-off zone as they
approached this encounter. In contrast,
Benissa's form has been disappointing
and includes a 6-1 thrashing at the
hands of this season's surprise outfit
UD Beniganim. Yet they always seem to
lift their game against Javea, whatever
their position in the league.
The
hosts might well have taken the lead
early in the game when a hopeful chip
over a surprisingly edgy Ortolá was
almost converted into a spectacular
own goal from Aldo, the young Argentinian
relieved to see his hashed clearance
strike the bar instead of the back of
the net. Nervous laughter from the large
travelling army from Javea; it looked
as if it might be one of the those games.
Again.
Scott
was making his second start of the season,
taking advantage of injury to Juanito
as well as Lindie's return to the UK.
Playing the lone striker role, he tried
his hardest but Benissa rallied their
defence well and the rojiblancos rarely
threatened, restricted to a handful
of snatched efforts and a couple of
long-range free-kicks that floated woefully
high of the goal. However, whilst he
may not be the best player in the squad, Scott
played the game how it should have been
played, with plenty of effort and passion
and, perhaps most importantly, a huge
will to win the match. Few in the team
matched such enthusiasm.
At
the other end, Benissa had their moments,
taking advantage of weaknesses on the
flanks to whip some dangerous balls
into the box which the rojiblancos dealt
with nervously but well enough to snuff
out any danger. Rubén Serrío was having
one of his worst games for the club,
constantly finding himself caught out
of position or, more frustratingly,
in possession of the ball deep in his
own territory. On the other side, Aldo
worked hard to drive the side up the
left wing but found himself caught too
high up the pitch too many times,
allowing Benissa to take advantage of
an enormous hole left by his advance.
Skipper Juanma, returning from one-match
suspension, still looks far from the
player he was last season when he picked
up the supporter's player-of-the-year
award but his job was not made any better
by having to cover for Aldo on the flanks,
leaving Ochando exposed in the centre;
luckily Benissa didn't seem to want
to take advantage.
The
second-half brought renewed enthusiasm
from the Javea fans who filled much
of the small stand and the rojiblancos
responded by exerting early pressure
on the hosts. Brothers Rubén Pla and
Evaristo Pla tried to gain control of
the midfield but their efforts were
made any easier by Benissa's insistence
on hitting the artificial turf in response
to any challenge. Several miracles were
witnessed as players in white rolled
in agony across the pitch only to rise
miraculously after either an award of
a free-kick or the attention of the
physio and magic spray. Maybe one should
get used to such antics - they happen
every weekend - but the frustration
was clearly getting the better of Javea
who began to pick up needless cautions
for dissent.
Benissa
secured the game after taking advantage
of two defensive errors. The first capitalised
on a loose ball swung widely out in
the general direction of the flanks
which allowed Benissa's Javi to
charge through into the box and curl
a low effort around the advancing Ortolá.
Just before the end, another error by
the centre allowed Marcos to drag the
ball around the keeper and drive low
into an empty net. In between the goals,
the hosts went mighty close to improving
the goals tally with an effort that
Ortolá did so well to palm around the
post.
Javea's
heads dropped, both on the pitch and
in the stands. The introduction of Reda
had made little change and whilst the
rojiblancos pushed for an consolation,
something to cheer the fans, the referee
brought the game to a close just as
Scott, recovering from a head clash,
nodded the ball over the line; the effort
was disqualified.
The
generous applause afforded by the travelling
fans at the end of the game was more
out of loyalty to the players than any
approval for the dismal performance
on the pitch. The rojiblancos should
feel a sense of pride for the supporters
who have travelled the length and breadth
of the Costa Blanca to support their side
for there are times when they don't
deserve it.
CD
JAVEA: Ortolá, Rubén Serrío, Ochando,
Juanma (c), Aldo, Canari (Reda), Onieva,
Rubén Plá, Evaristo Plá, Ribes, Scott.
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