Carnival in Town, Drama on the Pitch: Jávea Fall Narrowly to Novelda

The Carnival celebrations lighting up Xàbia on Saturday evening may have thinned the crowd at the Municipal, and the cool air carried a hint of winter, but the match itself burned bright. Both sides delivered an entertaining, high-quality contest, with fortune ultimately smiling on the visitors.

Jávea produced an impressive first half. Maverick was electric down the right flank, slicing through defenders and delivering cross after cross with surgical precision. Aliou came close twice, first steering a header wide and then sending another effort over the bar after a near-identical move. Ruano fired a warning shot with a fierce angled drive, while Maverick nearly opened the scoring himself, only to be denied by Marcano.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 34th minute. Maverick fed Aliou, who unselfishly squared the ball for Maxi to slot home and give Jávea the lead. The response was swift. Just six minutes later, Ruano floated in a cross that evaded everyone, drifting untouched into Nico’s net for the equaliser. Aliou had a golden chance to restore the lead before halftime, meeting yet another inviting delivery from Maverick, but his finish sailed over. At the break, it stood 1–1.

The second half tilted early in Novelda’s favour. Ruano struck again from the edge of the area in the 48th minute to make it 1–2. Jávea thought they had levelled through Maxi, but the goal was ruled out for a razor-thin offside. Novelda showed their resolve, and Nico was forced into two vital saves to keep his side in contention.

Maverick continued to torment the defence, weaving past his marker and testing Marcano once more. Adrián fired the rebound wide. The hosts pushed relentlessly for an equaliser, and in the final play of the match it was fittingly Maverick who had the last word, only for his free kick to crash into the wall. With that, the three points vanished into the carnival night.

CD Jávea: Nico; Josep, Joan Pedro, Paolo, Aldo, Joan, Lucas, Adrián (Mateo, 70’), Maverick, Aliou, Maxi (Joel, 76’).

Novelda Unión: Marcano; Samu Pastor, Samu Lucas, Ruano (Mateo, 69’), Chaco (Owen, 89’), Toni Díez, Alex Moreno, Ricky, Burgada, David Torres (Molina, 69’), Soldevila (Espuch, 76’).

Referee: José Romero Pérez. Booked for Jávea: Adrián, Aldo, Joel. For Novelda: Ricky, Samu Lucas, Molina, Mateo.

There is little time for regrets. On Wednesday at 8pm, Jávea host the rescheduled fixture against Redován, another chapter waiting to be written under the Municipal lights