1-2: UD Almería bid Spanish Cup adieu with heads held high
The Rojiblancos competed perfectly against top flight rivals Elche CF. Juan Villar, Sousa and Makaridze forced off the pitch with injuries
UD Almería bade Copa del Rey adieu with their heads held high. The Rojiblancos once again plucked up the courage to compete to perfection against top flight rivals Elche CF having merited a passage to the next round. Ramazani put his side in front with some dazzling skills in a match with plenty of injuries that reduced their strength for the subsequent visitors’ comeback (1-2).
They had not even started the Spanish Cup round of 32 when the UD Almeria contenders had to face the first unwanted setback. Juan Villar sustained an injury during the pre-match warm-up, so the head coach had to change his initial formation with Almeria ‘B’ goalscorer Carlos Gilbert, who actually played a good role. Makaridze, Juanjo Nieto, Buñuel, Babic, Iván Martos, Centelles, César de la Hoz, Javi Robles, Appiah, Ramazani and Gilbert started.
UD Almería bossed things as the half wore on. So much so that after 5 minutes, two goal scoring opportunities were carved out. Centelles’ shot hit the crossbar while, immediately afterwards, a strike from the left wing grazed the post. The opportunities continued to follow one another, highlighting at half an hour an explosive hit by youngster Carlos Gilbert that a defender sent to a corner.
UD Almeria deserved to get ahead over the boys from Elche that had a hard time moving forward from the midfield. It would not be until minute 41 when the goal award arrived. Juanjo Nieto and Ramazani teamed up and the talented Belgian opened the scoring before half-time (1-0). However, the true happiness of the Indálicos was faded by a new injury blow: Makaridze. Before the break, the keeper hurt his hip during an attempt to deny a hopeful opponent. The Georgian pushed himself after the restart but had to be subbed as he could not continue, coinciding with the moment in which Pablo Piatti grabbed the equaliser. Fernando came on between the sticks.
Despite the tie, UD Almeria continued fighting to get through to the next round of the cup tournament. Rubi showed his burning ambition in the substitutions, as Dyego Sousa - who has just shaken off an injury- entered the pitch to boost the team’s attack. Along with him, Samú Costa also was brought in action and it took him a short time to try his luck from the edge of the area. It was the 60th minute.
That's when everything went wrong. When he had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes, Dyego Sousa requested the change, suffering from some muscle pain. Pozo would take his spot, yet a new setback had just been experienced that forced the hosts to have to change their audacious plan to win.
The team kept fighting, looking for an effective attack. A very clear-cut chance in the boots of Javi Robles took place, the young midfielder did not hit the ball properly and a defender cleared. In addition, both sides slowed down the tempo as it became a game littered with fouls. That period saw Elche CF take the lead with a 83-minute goal from Raúl Guti (1-2).
UD Almería went on the attack. In fact, just before the final whistle, Centelles finished off, but his shot went over the crossbar missing a big chance. There was no time for more and the Rojiblancos exited the Copa del Rey tournament with their heads held high against tough top-tier rivals.