0-1: An isolated play decides a game in which Almería were clearly the superior team
Although the Rojiblancos dominated the match, the hosts could not make it against Sporting de Gijón
UD Almería suffered a bitter home defeat, even though the hosts were reigning superior. The Rojiblancos dominated the encounter against Sporting de Gijón and created far more goal-scoring opportunities, yet they could not find the net. However, an isolated play would be the one that would end up swinging the balance in the visitors’ favour with the final 0-1 result.
José Gomes bet on the same starting XI that marked their first match with a superb victory against Lugo with the only exception that Centelles, who was signed last Friday, was in charge of taking the spot of Akieme, was booked last week. In the same way, the presence of the last reinforcements stood out on the bench: Carvalho and Robertone.
It was a frantic start at Juegos Mediterraneos with Almeria having the ball under control and displaying plenty of on-pitch action. The Rojiblancos effectively managed moments of transitions and used fruitful line-breaking passes. Thus, after five minutes, Lazo tried his luck from the shooting zone with a strike that unfortunately went wide.
Sporting de Gijón did not snatch the ball from the hosts during the first 45 minutes. As it happened in their league debut, Almeria were developing a practical game and without suffering defensively. In this sense, with 26 minutes on the clock, a good one-touch play ended up with Fran Villalba passing the ball backwards and a powerful shot from Aketxe missing a sitter.
It was all square at half-time, yet over the course of the second-half, the script did not change. The Rojiblancos were clear dominating the pace of the game. So much so that as soon as the game resumed, Fran Villalba was on the verge of getting off the mark with a well-placed kick from the scoring third. The ball did not find its way to the back of the net.
Sporting de Gijón arrived at the Juegos Mediterráneos Stadium having won the three games that the Northerns have played so far. In point of fact, with the exception of Aitor García's swift run towards Almeria’s goal line—denied by Lazo— Makaritze still did not have to intervene. Almeria continued to create all the attacking pressure. In the 56th minute, Aktexe forced Mariño to make an effort with a free-kick, while shortly after Juan Villar failed to finish a cross received from the left flank.
It was being an evening of limited goalmouth activity, so that José Gomes decided to make a double substitution on the bench with Pedro Mendes and João Carvalho - who was debuting- coming on for Juan Villar and Fran Villalba.
The ball was moving from side to side. The Andalusian footballers continued to swap positions and break the visitors’ lines with movements and possession. Out of the blue, Sporting de Gijón took the lead after an isolated play. It was the 74th minute when Djuka inspired his team to victory thanks to a cross from the left wing that went all the way into the back of the post. Once the opener came, the Almería head coach replaced César de la Hoz introducing Robertone, who played his first minutes wearing the red and white shirt.
Far from collapsing after falling behind, UD Almería remained true to their style of play and sought the opposite goal. After a series of scoring opportunities at hands of Almeria, Samú fell into the 18-yard box after being grabbed and the referee blew his whistle to award a penalty. Nonetheless, after reviewing it in the VAR, he retracted his initial decision. It was the 82nd minute.
Sporting de Gijón were demonstrating with their knowledge why they have not been defeated yet in LaLiga SmartBank. On the other hand, Almeria kept on trying to find the equaliser in the final stretch. Corpas and Olivera, who also debuted in an official match, entered the pitch to add more speed, yet the goal was not coming and the 0-1 result on the scoreboard did not change.