Spoils are shared as Almeria cannot find the winner in 1-1 stalemate
Despite the Rojiblancos created several big chances, they were unable to record a well-deserved comeback
UD Almería tied a match in which they deserved a better result due to the many scoring opportunities they had. Once again, Almeria had to fight back after the opponents took the lead in the opening 45 minutes. It was not until the second half when Umar Sadiq's goal came, which meant the final 1-1 result with which the Rojiblancos managed to take a point, but with the feeling that the team could have won after a magnificent performance.
José Gomes, as he explained during the pre-match press conference, decided to tink the starting XI with respect the last meeting in Las Palmas. Thus, goalie Makaridze returned to the goal, Petrovic and César de la Hoz played on the hole and José Corpas was in charge of starting on the right wing. In addition, the returned to the 4-2-3-1 formation.
Nobody would expect a 0-1 score at half-time. The reason behind is that Almería pulled out all the stops to beat keeper Marc Martínez to the point that with just ten minutes on the clock there had already been two clear opportunities for the lads in red and white. Aketxe hit a free kick over the crossbar and a fine solo play by Umar Sadiq was narrowly missed.
Until then the hosts were dominant. However, in the 17th minute, Rubén Castro took advantage of a blunder made by the defence to put Cartagena in front by taken Makaridze by surprise, with hardly any angle, following effective pass at hands of Álex Gallar.
After finding the opener, the visitors gained momentum. The encounter entered a thrilling phase in which Almeria were going all out to snatch the equaliser, while the visitors were proving their recent good run. The Georgian between the sticks had to make a superb effort in a one-on-one with Cayarga who was too close to pull the second back on 31 minutes.
After the restart, UD Almería took another step forward to draw level. Shortly after returning from the dressing room, Umar Sadiq warned the visitors with a towering header stopped by Marc Martínez. Subsequently, Olivera and Robertone climbed off the bench while the Lusitanian coach named Petrovic and Aketxe on the bench. These modifications would mean that João Carvalho was placed up front, becoming a key player to help his team make it 1-1. The Portuguese provided Umar Sadiq an assist when the latter span away his marker. The Nigerian grabbed the 65th-minute equaliser.
During the final stretch, it was Juan Villar, Morlanes and Pedro Mendes’ turn to come on for Corpas, César de la Hoz and João Carvalho. That was the time when enough Almeria footballers gathered in the shooting area producing countless attempts at goal.
Almeria claimed a possible penalty following Pedro Mendes’ action in stoppage time, yet the referee asked the sides to carry on with the game. In that same moment, Juan Villar thumped a clinical, but the ball could not find the back of the net.
Almería scored again after three consecutive matchdays without doing so. Nonetheless, the point left the feeling that the Rojiblancos deserved a better result, judging by the numerous goal scoring opportunities.