With all the excitement of the Cup debut, Málaga CF visited RSC Peña Deportiva in the first round of the competition. Mel selected the following starting-11: Manolo Reina; Ramalho, Burgos, Andrés, Lumor; Hervías, Jozabed, Febas, Cristian; Fran Sol and Rubén Castro.
The locals got off to an energetic start and generated the first opportunities, saved by Manolo Reina. As time went on, they controlled possession and in minute 17 sent out a warning to the Malaguistas with a long shot from Roger that hit the bar.
The first goal of the game stemmed from the penalty spot. Manolo committed a foul inside the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty to the locals. Carlos Cristeto was in charge of putting his team 1-0 up (34').
Half-time was approaching and the score remained in the locals’ favour. However, in the 44th minute, Cristian found Fran Sol from the left wing and the number ‘9’ outwitted Edu Frías to make it 1-1 after 45 minutes.
At the start of the second half, Pepe Mel made a triple substitution. Chavarría, Genaro and Dani Lorenzo came on in place of Hervías, Jozabed and Rubén Castro. Play was even between both sides who shared possession.
However, the locals enjoyed options to get ahead once again. The referee disallowed a goal by Ton Ripoll (51') and Roger hit the bar again from distance (71').
N'Diaye and Haitam, for Febas and Cristian were Pepe Mel’s other changes. Despite attempts form both teams, the match went to extra time.
Haitam was raring to go at the start and created a great play from the wing, although it didn’t culminate in an opportunity for the Malaguistas. In 106’, Bustinza replaced Andrés to bring fresh legs to the match.
Both teams, fatigued by the great physical effort, alternated attempts without luck until the 120th minute. In the penalty shootout, Málaga CF won by 7-8 after Ripoll missed the eighth penalty for the home side and Lumor converted the eighth Blue and White penalty, after seven penalties scored by both teams.
Málaga CF are through to the next round. The draw will take place on Wednesday 16th November at 17:00 at the RFEF’s Ciudad del Fútbol.
Photo: SCR Peña Deportiva
