1-1: UD Almería boost good vibes in pre-season friendly against Málaga CF
The Rojiblancos stage a brilliant first half, but lose momentum in the second period. Friendly against Granada CF this Saturday
UD Almería boost good vibes in their pre-season fourth friendly against Málaga CF, especially in the first half that could be described as brilliant although in the second period they lost momentum. UD Almería 'B' youngster Rojas scored again and although the players from Malaga CF managed to draw things level, Sadiq, in the 75th minute was too close to making it 2-1, yet the ball hit the crossbar.
Head coach Rubi put into contention an Starting XI made up of familiar faces from last season with the exceptions of UD Almería 'B' youngster Fuoli in goal; French right-back Mendes and Brazilian centre-back Kaiky. The adversaries...a well reinforced Malaga CF as they seem to be fully determined to achieve promotion to the top flight next season. A clear example is their offensive tandem formed by Fran Sol and Rubén Castro.
The Rojiblancos once again put a relentless pressure on their Andalusian neighbours who knew how to counter it much better than in previous games. This only goes to show that the pre-season training camp is bearing fruit, especially considering the potential of the Malagueños. They took on UD Almería with grit and confidence, but the well positioned Indalicos kept Málaga CF at bay. In fact, they demonstrated how to perform at their best even without the ball, so they did not experience much trouble except for a thumping header from Jozabed that was denied by the woodwork.
Rubi's side were the ones that created more chances up front through effective passing and good tactics. So much so that Sadiq squandered two clear scoring opportunities. The Nigerian striker assisted Rojas on 31 minutes to make it 1-0 and put his name onto the scoresheet. By the way, the UD Almería 'B' youngster replaced Appiah as the English player felt some ankle discomfort.
Rubi maintained the first-half line-up in the second half, but unlike in the opening 45 minutes, it was Málaga CF who took the most control of the game to the point that just 5 minutes after the break, they grabbed the equaliser (1-1). UD Almería had blown their lead. The lads from Malaga CF had more ball possesion and managed to keep pace with UD Almería who lost momentum. Little by little, the Rojiblancos imposed the pressure back on and tried to boss the game until the end. The changes made strengthened the midfield and therefore, within 30 minutes, Sadiq sent the ball to the crossbar missing the chance to break the deadlock. The ref blew the final whistle with the game tied at 1-1.
Match information:
UD Almería: Fuoli, Mendes, Kaiky, Babić, Alex Centelles, Samú Costa, Eguaras, Curro, Ramazani, Appiah (Rojas, 29') and Sadiq. During the second half Rosić, Robertone, Lazo, Arnau Puigmal were in action.
Málaga CF: Yáñez, Juanfran, Bustinza, Ramalho, Burgos, Javi Jiménez, Jozabed, Luis Muñoz, Febas, Fran Sol and Rubén Castro. Escassi, Genaro, Víctor Olmo, Diarra, Andrés Caro also played.
Referee: Manuel Camacho, from the Cordoba Referees School. He booked Bustinza, from Málaga CF.
Goals: 1-0 (31'). Rojas, within the area, after a brilliant assist at the hands of Sadiq. 1-1 (50'). Burgos, with a header, beats Fuoli.
Observations: UD Almería's fourth pre-season friendly played at the Montecastillo facilities in Jerez de la frontera were the training camp is taking place.