Referee cancels UD Almería vs Hearts friendly before half-time
The Rojiblancos were on the lead but an dangerous foul by a Scottish player led to the decision at the request of the opponents' head coach.
The second friendly of this World Cup break played by UD Almería only lasted 41 minutes since, in this minute, the referee Javier Sánchez Carreras (Córdoba) called off the match at the request of Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson. The reason why, a brawl between the two teams after a dangerous tackle by Scot Alex Cochrane on Alejandro Pozo. Trouble on the field and a brawl on the benches. Until then, Rubi's side was on the lead by 1-0 thanks to Sousa's opener and they were clearly dominating the Jambos.
Ball on the right side of the UD Almería's box. Final stretch of the first part (41'). First aerial duel between Pozo and the Scotsman. Ball control by the Rojiblanco player. Dangerous foul by Cochrane -who had already been involved in another foul minutes before on Samú Costa- and immediately afterwards, chaos took over the D. José Burgos Quintana Sports Complex in the Malaga-based town of Coín both on the pitch and on the bench.
The two teams were shovering each other around so both the Hearts' player due to the reckless tackle, and Rodrigo Ely for his reaction after the foul, received marching orders.
Before this incident, it was a good first half for Rubi's men, who had put themselves in front thanks to Sousa's opening goal inside the area in the 28th minute. Samú Costa provided striker Dyego Sousa with a great assist. A few minutes earlier, on 16 minutes, the Brazilian player had missed a penalty. Previously, the team thoroughly dominated a game that was forced to be abandoned in the end.
The brawl on the pitch triggered arguments in the bench area, in which the Hearts' head coach ordered his players to go to the dressing room. The referee called off the game after talking to Robbie Neilson. Early end.
Match Information:
Main referee: Javier Sánchez Carreras (Córdoba).
Assistants: Alejandro Agote Garrido and Francisco José Perez Guerrero.
UD Almería: Fuoli; Well, Ely, De la Hoz, Akieme; Samu, Robertone, Eguaras; Ramazani, Lazaro, Sousa. Bench: Fernando, Melero, Portillo, El Bilal, Embarba, Baptistao, Milovanovic, Arnau, Centelles, Chumi, Mendes, Kaiki, Pacheco.
Heart of Midlothian FC: Stewart, M. Smith, Cochrane, Halkett, Darge, Sibbick, Ginnelly, Kio, Shankland, Grant, Mckay.
Goals: 1-0. Sousa finishes inside the area coming from the left wing assisted by Samú Costa
Observations: friendly suspended at the request of the Hearts' gaffer.
