1-2: UD Almería put their name in the hat for Spanish Cup third-round

UD Almería keep on moving forward with their brilliant run in the league in the Spanish Cup as they qualified for the tournament round of 32 after beating Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa 1-2 away from home. Leo Baptistao's match-winning goal capped off an outstanding performance in the 85th minute. Maximiano, who proved his quick reflexes, saved a penalty with the score at 1-1. The draw for the Spanish Cup third-round will be held at 1pm next Monday.

 

Rubi made numerous changes to the squad, although he put regular players in action and also others who wanted to redeem themselves, since the opponents were going to go all out. Centelles was the only player who started against Granada CF that was handed out a starting spot in León, so in this way he opted for a fresh formation. Maximiano in goal; Pozo, Kaiky, Radovanovic and Centelles, in defence; Quintanilla and Melero linked up as a  double pivot; the wings for Melamed and Perovic, and Rachad and Marezi up front.

 

Things couldn't have gotten better for UD Almería because on 2 minutes they opened the scoring 0-1 when Nico Melamed found the back of the net with a diagonal shot after a corner kick. The Rojiblancos had the ball and controlled the situation easily. Even Marezi, in a counter-attack, nearly turn the score 0-2. However, Txus Alba, in the 17th minute, found the equaliser in a rebound. Cultural pile on the attack, cranked upmnthe pressure and put a lot of impetus into their plays so within half an hour, they hit the woodwork. Although the Indálicos once again ruled the pitch, they did not conjure up clear-cut chances, in the 45th minute, the Leoneses had a penalty after a quick transition to take the lead; Maximiano denied them and the opening forty-five minutes ended with both teams level. There were too many surprises in the last minutes of this first period. 

 

Head coach Rubi made a tactical change after the restart by placing Rachad on the wing and Nico Melamed as a second striker behind Marezi. However, the gaffer did not get the results he expected with those substitutions. Arnau Puigmal and Sergio Arribas came on in the 58th minute, replacing Rachad and Melamed, respectively and those replacements made the difference. 

 

UD Almería were more powerful in attack, but so were the Cultural men. This second half saw plenty of end-to-end activity. The Castilian hosts showed that they are on their way, once again, to professional football. The chances followed one another in both goals and while the Indálicos hit the crossbar, the home team did so with Maximiano.

 

In the midst of an exchange of blows, after 85 minutes the match-winning goal came. No one said it was going to be easy but Leo Baptistao produced that bit of magic from the bench by finishing off a cross from Pozo inside the box. The Rojiblancos put their name in the hat for Spanish Cup third-round.