3-2: Almeria edged out by a high flying Tamaraceite in the Copa del Rey
The rojiblancos took the lead at first, but they could not avoid Tamaraceite’s impressive comeback, in which their keeper was the star player
UD Almeria was gobsmacked by the Tamaraceite’s win in the first round of the Copa del Rey. It was an electrifying match played at the Juan Guedes Field in Las Palmas. UD Almeria could not make it to the next round and lost against a Third Division rival who made things very complicated for the rojiblancos. Almeria were ahead on the scoreboard (0-1), their opponents recorded an incredible comeback (2-1), then the game went into extra time (2-2). Tamaraceite plucked up the courage and scored first in extra time. Despite the fact Almeria created numerous chances, the adversary’s goalkeeper managed to saves shots. He was definitely the star player of his squad in an absolutely exciting game.
In fact, there was no hiding place for the Tamaraceite’s keeper, who made spectacular saves thanks to his good reflexes. Almeria carved clear scoring chances and went in to the half-time break with the scoreline 0-1, even though they could have increased the lead. In the second half and extra time, the opponents found the net three times. Searching for the equaliser ended up being costly for the rojiblancos. The unexpected always happens.
As planned, José María Gutiérrez, opted for a starting XI formed by the first team players who had spent less time on the pitch lately. The left-back Fermín was the only Almeria B player who was a starter. Next to him, the defenders Romera, Maras and Ozornwafor. Aguza and Coric were the double pivot. Appiah, Chema and Gaspar in the attacking zone and Sekou was number 9. With this starting line-up, Almeria was meant to defeat a Third Division team. The thing is that they are a squad who counts on seasoned veteran players, who had played in higher divisions and even for the UD Las Palmas, as they demonstrated in the match.