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 A
LABOURED draw against fellow Preferente
side Gandía CF marked the start of the short
pre-season campaign for the rojiblancos
as they continue their preparations for
the new campaign. A late strike from Javi
cancelled out an opener from the visitors
to give the modest home crowd of around
150 something to cheer about. However it
was obvious to most of those present that
there is still a lot of work to do before
the season opener against Pinoso CF on Sunday
2nd September; the next four weeks are going
to be crucial for CD Javea.
The rojiblancos ran out resplendent
in their new all-white away strip - this
season's new home outfit will be revealed
on Saturday August 25th during the club
presentation evening - and the side which
began the game had very much a new-look
about it ... and it wasn't just the new
clean shirts. Only five of the starting
eleven played for the club last season -
goalkeeper Ortolá, centre-halves Iborra
and Juanma, midfielder Javi and striker
Alex Cuadrado. Debuts were afforded to Chili
at right-back with Aldo on the opposite
side at left-back. In the centre of the
park, Rubén Plá made a welcome return to
the club, cheered by most in the know in
the small crowd. Ginger-haired Pedro reminded
us of Jeff MacLean from a couple of years
ago whilst the ongoing saga with Carlos
Ribes looks to have been finally completed
as he took to the field on the left side.
Up front the much talked about striker Juanito
looked to live up to his reputation by playing
alongside tall striker Alex Cuadrado.
The game opened slowly on
a very warm evening at the Municipal Stadium.
The rojiblancos stroked the ball around
the pitch comfortably but there was still
a huge problem with 'bunching' in midfield
as players followed the ball around like
a fourth-year kickabout at school. With
acres of space on one side unbalancing the
middle of the park, progress was slow through
the centre, although Javi managed a snatched
shot after just six minutes which sailed
harmlessly wide of the right-hand upright.
A few minutes later Alex Cuadradro
opened up a perfect chance for Javi to open
the scoring, sliding the ball across the
edge of the area only for the youngster
to flail wildly at the ball which floated
calmly wide of the goal. The young midfielder
had a third chance to score midway through
the first half after collected a loose ball
on the left but once again his final effort
was way below par and he fired well wide
of the left post.
Gandía themselves squandered
a couple of chances later in the first period
and the first 45 minutes was played out
with all the hallmarks of a first pre-season
outing. For the home crowd, there were some
encouraging signs and the side looked a
lot more confident that the collection of
nerves that played out last season. However
it was apparent to everyone that there was
still a lot of work to do on the training
ground.
The second-half saw Puncho
finally make his return to the pitch at
Javea to loud cheers from the fans, which
he acknowledged with a purposeful clenched
fist in the direction of the support. The
rojiblancos had two golden chances to open
the scoring but a combination of poor finishing
and good defending from the opposition thwarted
both Carlos Ribes and Alex Cuadrado.
Midway through the second-half
Gandía took an unlikely lead when the referee
adjudged that a intentional trip had occurred
inside the area but he was just about the
only person in the ground to see it; the
visitors slotted home from the spot past
new keeper Buaza to put themselves into
the lead. Puncho worked hard to get the
home side back into the game; an appeal
for a penalty after a dramatic dive on the
far side was rewarded with a yellow card
but at least the passion was evident.
With five minutes remaining
Javea levelled the scores. Javi was found
in acres of space inside the area and smashed
home from 10 yards past former keeper Aurelio
to make it 1-1, a fair score. The fans were
generous with their applause as the referee
brought the game to a close; it was certainly
not a classic encounter by a long chalk
but pre-season games tend to be laboured
affairs and hopefully both Kenny Brown and
Miguel Angel will already have reams of
notes to work on over the next few weeks.
MOTM - Julio Iborra
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