0-1: Gutsy UD Almería pulled off remarkable victory in Tenerife

UD Almería played hard and came off with a big win over CD Tenerife after putting on a classy performance with good passing, exciting attacking play and effective defending. The perk of this triumph was closing the gap on current leaders SD Eibar, one point ahead, and opening the gap with third-placed Real Valladolid CF, who are now four points behind. Everyone stood up and put in a brave fight; Ramazani’s penalty and Fernando’s terrific saves earned UD Almeria a narrow but all-important 0-1 victory on the island.

Rubi opted for a defensive line made up of three centre-backs to start the match, César de la Hoz teamed up with Babić and Rodrigo Ely at the heart of the defence; custodian Fernando between the sticks, full-backs Pozo and Akieme; Eguaras and Samú Costa in the midfield, while Ramazani and Sadiq played up front.

It was a lightning-fast first half in which both sides played their hearts out from the beginning. After a series of chances, in the 17th minute, CD Tenerife hit the woodwork with a header from Enric Gallego. In the case of the UD Almeria players, the most outstanding action occurred after half an hour when Ramazani, Sadiq and Pozo made a perfect triangulation after which the Sevillian footballer tested the reflexes of Juan Soriano.

From then until half-time, the first period continued to be fast-paced. The hosts were the ones who nearly opened the scoring, yet Fernando was in charge of making sure of going into the break all square after parrying that shot and pushing it over the crossbar.

The second half arrived with the Indalicos putting themselves in front inside 59 minutes. Sadiq Umar was hacked down in the small box and Ramazani’s penalty earned his team a remarkable victory eventually (0-1).

With the visitors up 0-1, CD Tenerife risked more in the search for a draw. Keeper Fernando Martínez became once again a sharp shot-stopper to keep his team on the lead on the island. The most outstanding save took place in the 73rd minute with the Murcia-born goalkeeper paying close attention to a header from opponent Mario.

UD Almería knew how to manage the remaining time to perfection to take all three vital points home. In essence, the visitors continued to develop the practical style of play that was giving them positive results during a hard-fought match until the 0-1 was confirmed. The Rojiblancos not only closed the gap on leaders but also opened the gap with promotion-hunting sides at the top of the table in the race for promotion to LaLiga Santander.