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Report: Mike
Smith
The weather tried its best
to dampen the spirits of the 200 or so fans
who braved the win and rain at the Municipal
Stadium to watch CD Javea extend their
unbeaten run to six games. Coach Kenny Brown
and his team have put together a tough set
of players, all of whom were individually
introduced to the crowd in an official club
presentation before the game, and they have
proved that, with the right combination
on the pitch, they can battle against adversity
and win games that maybe previous incarnations
might have lost. The proof will very much
be in the pudding when Javea begin their
2007/08 campaign against Pinoso next week
but it would appear that the confidence
of both the team and the fans is running
at a much higher level than it was this
time last season and, whilst we should avoid
being carried away by two very comprehensive
victories against teams who quite possibly
will be no push-overs this season,
there is every sign that the rojiblancos
will compete very favourably this campaign.
Kenny
selected an opening XI which included several
players who, it might be fair to say, may
not be first-choice when the real work starts
in September. After the stunning performance
during the first period against UD Oliva
last week, there might be have been some
excuse for a bit of optimism in the stands
but CE Alberic are no Oliva and the home
side were up against it from the opening
whistle. Goalkeeper Bauza, formerly of UD
Benissa, might be looking to push Ortolá
for the position between the sticks this
season and his stunning point-blank
save after five minutes clearly demonstrated
that could have all the right attributes
to do so. However his command of his defence didn't
seem so authoritive and Alberic took advantage
of a worryingly erratic back-line after
just 16 minutes to open the scoring.
The
goal stirred the rojiblancos as the rain
continued to fall from a rapidly darkening
August evening sky. Puncho might have done
better connecting to a decent cross from
Rubén but his header dropped tamely into
the keepers arms. A few minutes later Rubén
Plá floated a free-kick into a vacant six-yard
area, the ball collected calmly by the custodian.
Carlo worked hard down the right-hand side
and it seemed that much of the play was
to be through the popular long-haired winger
but Alberic had done their homework and
as soon as he received the ball at
least two defenders rapidly bore down
on him and extinguished much of his potential
thread. However, that said, he did
manage to swing in a cross from the right-hand
side that skimmed the surface but striker
Álex Cuadrado appeared to mistime his effort
and swung wildly at fresh air as the ball
continued its path across the face of the
goal. The effort brought to a close a disappointing
first half performance.
The
rain had stopped as the second-half began
with the confident words of the new club
president still ringing in our ears: "I
know we're 1-0 down and not playing very
well but I think we can win this".
The rojiblancos started well but very little
was produced by much effort. Changes were
made and skipper Jose Luis was brought on
along with tenacious midfielder Ribes, young
striker Juanito and the popular (and
somewhat chunky) front-man Javi. Almost
immediately Javea seemed to lift a couple
of notches and should have taken the lead
minutes later when the Alberic custodian
spilled the ball with appeared to cross
the line. From the vantage point in the
stand it looked as if there was a very small
patch of green between the ball and the
goal-line - surely a goal? The officials
waved play-on and the fans waved back with
incredulity.
However
it wasn't long before the rojiblancos managed
to put themselves back on level terms. A
free-kick was awarded for an innocuous challenge
on the left-hand side - maybe awarded in
situ of the goal? - and Ribes floated the
ball across the face of the goal which was
met by Puncho on the far post who dipped
low to head it into the goal and cheer the
fans on the stands. With Alberic reduced
to ten men soon after, the rojiblancos lifted
the bar even further when Javi smashed the
ball into the back of the net after a short
scramble in front of goal. The eleven on
the pitch were dominating their opposition
and looking more like the side that crushed
Oliva during the first-half of last week's
match. Striker Juanito picked up his third
goal of the pre-season campaign as the match
drew to a close in the gloom, finally bundling
home after a number of efforts were blocked
by the defence to secure a second successive
3-1 victory for Javea.
CD
JAVEA: Bauza (Ortolá); Chili (Alexander);
Jorge; Juanma; Aldo (Ribes); Carlo (Javi);
Rubén Pla; Pablo (José Luis); Puncho; Alex
Cuadrado (Juanito).
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