Rubi: 'We were closer to winning than our rivals in the second half'

UD Almería head coach Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia 'Rubi' have his take on the one-all draw with Real Sporting de Gijón at the El Molinón press room. It was a match that seemed to be controlled by his side, but a penalty and a sending-off against UD Almeria awarded the guests with one point on the road. 'It was a very vibrant match for the spectator. The opponents started very well, they put a lot of pressure on us, but we stood up. Little by little, we've been growing and I guess we've seen a UD Almería squad with the ability to create plays. In the second half, we were the ones closer to achieving victory,' stressed the Catalan.

 

Rubi was satisfied with his players' invigorated performance, he accepted the point and did not detract from Rubén Albés' team: 'The team have competed perfectly, they haven't taken the prize of victory against great rivals, who are well worked and who play with high intensity. We must accept the tie as good and turn our attention to Málaga CF from now on.'

 

The Vilassar de Mar native also spoke about Sporting and the hunger with which they faced the Matchday 28 fixture to increase their chances of entering the VIP zone of the Segunda division table: 'The match had been sold as Sporting's last opportunity to fight for the play-offs and we knew how they were going to turn out. We've been well organised, but we have suffered. Our idea was playing out from the back sensibly, however we made mistakes in some situations.' 

 

Finally, the Indálicos' gaffer expressed words of affection towards the Asturias team since he coached them in their last year in the top flight: 'I actually think about my group and I want UD Almería to move up, but I'd be delighted if Sporting did too. You just have to come here and check out the atmosphere, the stadium, the city... There are teams that have remained a little stuck in the tier, but they just have to keep working to find that moment in which the season turns out well.'