|
 A
SHARE of the spoils would have been
a better reflection of a frenetic end-to-end
game fought with passion by two sides
with aspirations for a play-off
spot. A second successive game away
from home brought a second successive
defeat, not the ideal return for a side
which had restored hopes of promotion
after the Christmas break. But, for
all the long faces that trooped slowly
from the pitch at the end of the game,
these defeats certainly don't suggest
that Javea's run of three successive
victories was a fluke and much
against form. The rojiblancos
still demonstrate the passion to win
throughout 90 minutes of football and
but for a touch of luck and, perhaps,
some better service to the strikers,
might have slipped into the top three.
It's far from over and with a run of
games against weaker sides - a paper
at least - CD Javea might just claim
one of those spots.
CE
Alberic entered the game determined
to put their season firmly back on track
after a run of just one win in three
games had seen them slip behind the
leaders at the top of the table. The
slip in form appeared to have an effect
on the local support and, considering
the lofty position of the their side,
barely 200 turned out on a sunny but
chilly afternoon.
The
home side applied pressure early but
the Javea defence held firm against
persistent attack. The rojiblancos
eventually found the space to move the
ball upfield towards the opposition
goal and ONIEVA might have done better
when he collected a great long cross
from DANI on the right-hand side but
his effort was blocked for a corner
which came to nothing.
Minutes
later SCOTT, returning from suspension,
challenged the keeper to meet a high
cross into the box from CANARI but the
custodian was able to claim under pressure
from the determined striker. The Englishman
was involved in the next wave of attack
when some excellent from ONIEVA in the
centre of the park saw the ball passed
out wide to IVARS on the left flank
and the midfielder floated a delightful
cross into the box but once again the
keeper claimed well despite the close
attention of SCOTT.
Alberic
shook off the early pressure from the
rojiblancos and responded with
some pressure on the right side through
Santi. The winger drove a powerful cross
into the box, however RUBIERRIZ
was on head to push away the ball which
fell to Manolo on the edge of the six-yard
box, the striker heading towards the
goal but clutching his head in frustration
as the floored keeper recovered enough
to claim the ball in dramatic fashion
on the line.
As
the first-half reached the midway point,
Javea began to take control of the game,
playing some wonderful passing football
which drew appreciation from both sets
of fans. SCOTT played with absolute
determination, one moment chasing down
defenders in possession before tracking
back to help out his team-mates in the
middle third. He was proving to be a
thorn in the side of the Alberic defence
and Solves was booked for a clumsy challenge
on the Englishman, a foul brought about
through frustration with his own team-mates'
lack of backbone. The rojiblancos
took the free-kick and IVARS floated
in a wonderful high ball which Pozuelo
spilled under pressure from OCHANDO
only to recover under pressure from
the tall centre-half.
At
the other end, Javea had defended well,
working together as a team to keep out
the opposition. However, much against
the run of play, the first goal came
through defensive frailty. The enthusiastic
Solves charged down the right side to
unleash a cross into the box from the
goal-line which was cleared by ONIEVA
for a corner. Vincent Gonzalez floated
a delightful corner-kick into the crowded
six-yard box and Mompó rose unchallenged
to head the ball through the mass and
into the net to put the home side into
an unlikely lead.
The
game started to get scrappy, no thanks
to the inconsistency of the officials.
ALDO was judged to have committed a
foul throw deep inside his own territory;
a long throw was launched into
the box and Solaz collapsed to the ground
in dramatic fashion under pressure from
JUANMA. The home fans screamed for a
penalty and the centre-half held his
breath as the referee blew to stop play
only to book the midfielder for simulation,
much to the relief of the rojiblancos.
Five
minutes from the break, Santi forced
another corner after his cross was blocked
well by JUANMA. The kick was floated
well into the box and partially cleared
only to find Solves lurking on the penalty
spot and he smashed the ball into the
roof of the net. Yet RUBIRRIEZ lay prostrate
on the ground, clearly pushed over by
Tomaca in the melee, and the rojiblancos
called unsuccessfully for a foul. 2-0
to Alberic. But, as the Javea bench
remonstrated with the poor linesman,
their team charged upfield from kick-off
and DANI crossed into the box from the
right flank where SCOTT rose above the
defence and nod home to pull the rojiblancos
back into the game at half-time.
The
second half began as the first, with
Alberic applying pressure to Javea.
ALDO was booked for a clumsy challenge
as Alberic's Santi proved to a
handful for the young Argentinian. And
then the game began to ebb and flow
from end -to-end in a breathless war
of attrition. RIBES was brought on for
DANI to give Javea a more attacking
edge but Alberic would still drive forward
dangerously. ALDO and YOUSSOUPHA began
to work well together to drive back
down the left flank and would eventually
win a free-kick two yards outside of the
outside of the area. CANARI and RIBES
lined up to take the kick, the latter's
wild effort deflected for a corner.
Four corners in quick succession proved
fruitless yet it was good pressure from
Javea.
On
the hour mark Javea might have won a
free-kick inside the area when a long
ball from CARBONELL was touched back
to the goalkeeper by Mompó, an obvious
back-pass which went unpunished by the
referee, much to the chagrin of the
away bench. It might have been a desperate
clutching of straws but the midfielder
clearly passed back to his custodian
and, in other game, there might not
have been any doubt. The frustration
lifted the rojiblancos. PABLO
made a welcome return to the field after
injury when he replaced YOUSSOUPHA and
made his determination to win back his
place most obvious. The home crowd grew
more restless, calling for justice at
every tackle as Alberic would collapse
dramatically to the artificial grass
surface. They knew that the game was
far from won and that Javea were more
than capable of mounting a successful
comeback.
The
balding Tomaca tried a snatched shot
from distance after RIBES had failed
to clear properly from a corner before
he would then delightfully curl a free-kick
around the wall only to see RUBIRRIEZ
claim the ball confidentally at the
left upright. The play then flowed back
into Javea's favour and ONIEVA forced
a corner-kick, taken by ALDO, which
was eventually cleared after a scramble
in the six-yard box. Alberic tried all
sorts of tactics and Santi was booked
for unsportingly throwing an already
out-of-bounds ball into the stand
and beyond the reaches of ALDO
to prevent a quick throw.
Tenb
minutes before time, the home side got
the break that they didn't particulay
deserve. The rojiblancos were
caught upfield as they searched for
an equaliser and a clearance bounced
over ALDO to open up a counter-attack
down the right. As the orange shirts
charged desperately back into defence,
Santi collected the ball and, despite
the attentions of OCHANDO, crossed high
to the far side where an unmarked Solaz
simply headed beyond the despairing
dive of RUBIRRIEZ to give Alberic a
two-goal cushion.
Javea
continued to fight but just couldn't
find the right last ball into the box.
Alberic defended wildly, protecting
the lead by restricting themselves to
snatched counter-attacks. But the rojiblancos
would not give up. A minute from time,
SCOTT was fouled just outside of the
area and IVARS fired over the wall and
into the net, the keeper remaining motionless.
Yet the effort was disallowed, initially
for an unknown reason, before someone
in the stand suggested that an indirect
free-kick had been awarded and therefore
the effort had to be cancelled. The
referee's signals prior to the kick
were unclear and from the bench it looked
as if he had indeed awarded a direct
kick. However the players confirmed
after the game that the signal, unclear
or not, seemed to have been misread.
However,
as the game slipped into stoppage time,
Javea forced open a chink of light when
RIBES smashed home from close range,
meeting a fine cross from SCOTT. Subsitute
DINO grabbed the ball from the back
of the net; there might still be time
to snatch a point. As the home fans
screamed for the final whistle, Javea
fought hard to try and find that equaliser,
PABLO picking up a booking in his determination
to win the ball. The last few seconds
was simply breath-taking as the away
contingent willed the ball into the
Alberic box but the effort was in vain
as the referee finally brought the game
to a conclusion.
CE
ALBERIC: Pozuelo, Mompó, Solves,
Iván, Abelardo, Santi (Jorge, 81'), Tomaca
(Ádrian, 77'), Vicent
Gonzales, Solaz, Manolo (Gail, 88'), Néstor.
CD
JAVEA: Rubierrez, Carbonell, Ochando,
Juanma, Aldo, Canari (Dino, 81'), Youssoupha
(Pablo, 59'), Ivars,
Dani (Ribes, 52'), Scott, Onieva.
GOALS:
1-0,m.33: Mompó; 2-0,m.40: Solves; 2-1,
m.41: Scott; 3-1, m,79: Solaz; 3-2,
m.90: Ribes.
YELLOW
CARDS: CE Alberic: Solves,
Santi, Vincent Gonzales, Solaz, Manolo,
Ádrian; CD Javea: Ochando, Aldo, Youssoupha,
Pablo.
|
