Bitter tables in the Alicante derby in which the honorary title of winter champion of Group 5 of Second RFEF was put at stake. Or, at least, until Hercules plays his game against bottom-side Marchamalo. The tie between Intercity and La Nucía leaves César Ferrando’s men as provisional leaders. However, a Herculaneum triumph will make them give up the baton. The visitors, who went ahead through Borja and had control of the duel, were punished by the absurd expulsion of Mariano twenty minutes from the end. Intercity grew, tied and kept their streak intact without losing, which reaches 14 games.
The casualties in the return to competition after the Christmas break caused a tactical change in the more common scheme of Siviero. Without Rofino and giving entry to Eric Jiménez in the eleven, the line of three centrals and two back lanes mutated to four defenders. Ferroni maintained his offensive presence on the left, although Binu was more affected by the variant.
Intercity began the duel abusing long balls, without precision. The first occasion, which was not shot, occurred at a quarter of an hour and almost by accident. A clearance by the “men in black” turned into an assist to Benja, who was unable to define well and was entangled first in control and then in a cut.
The equality of the crash was broken thanks to the youngest on the pitch. La Nucía showed once again that the most dangerous wolf is the one with sheep’s clothing. In this situation, Ferrando’s are handled perfectly. Standing at the back, there are times when they don’t seem to have an offensive presence. However, at the slightest bit they stick their fang into their opponent.
Thus, a center from the left was lowered by Mariano, leaving the ball in the front of the area. Borja arrived there, the most outstanding appearance in this first round of Second RFEF. The kid hit the ball perfectly and Manu Herrera couldn’t do anything. Ferrando’s bet on this boy from Benidorm, who broke in at the end of November, directly to the starting eleven, is still more than justified: five games, three goals.
A few days after entering his twenties, Borja did what seemed impossible, to score a goal for Intercity as a local. The unbeaten streak was stopped in the eighth game, after 655 minutes without Manu Herrera taking a ball from his goal. In Santa Pola it was the first goal conceded by Alicante, since in their four previous commitments in “exile” they left a clean sheet.
The goal made Intercity feel bad, and they did not have the capacity to react. The nucieros closed Ferroni’s band well and Cristian was not able to take command, accumulating erroneous passes. Borja himself had another chance for the double, but his shot was stopped by Manu in two halves. At halftime, Siviero had to look for the formula so as not to lose the option to finish leading the first round.
From crossbar to expulsion and draw
The idea of the Argentine coach was to double his number of forwards, retiring Eric and giving entry to Enzo Cabrera. The new attacker had the first, with a high shot, but La Nucía went on to take command of the clash, with Borja, Manu Viana and Javi Martín leading the attacks. Romera, after a good collective action, had the 0-2 but ran into the crossbar. Siviero’s “Plan B” was not working.
The first crooked line for Ferrando came with the expulsion of Mariano, who exceeded his momentum when pressuring Josiel in a ball exit and hunted him from behind. The referee did not hesitate and showed him the direct red, which the forward even assumed. Instantly, the exciting Borja left the field to leave his place for Fofo and the Nucan order became to resist at all costs. Intercity, meanwhile, released more offensive material with Viguera and Alemán.
The locals came up when they saw themselves in numerical superiority and it did not take too long to equalize the crash. Viguera did it, by splicing a rejection after a center from the right of Pol Roigé. There was still time to think about an express comeback, but La Nucía defended well, except in a Ferroni internship in which the Argentine side finished very cross. The last one was Fofo for the visitors, with a timid shot at the hands of Manu Herrera. The added point closes a great first round for La Nucía and Intercity, but the leadership of Hercules serves on a silver platter.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.