A gala atmosphere with a record attendance (29,937 spectators) in the stands at La Rosaleda, along with visiting supporters in the Preferencia Alta stand. On the pitch, Juanfran Funes made two changes to his starting-11 compared to the first leg in Las Palmas: Montero came in for the injured Einar in the central-left area of defence, and Joaquín replaced Aaron Ochoa on the left wing.
UD Las Palmas struck first in their opening attack. Marvin Park made a run down the right and set up Jesé, who made no mistake (0-1, 3’). The crowd’s response was to lift their team by being even louder.
After the first quarter of an hour, Joaquín created some danger with two shots that went just wide to the left of Horkas’ goal. On the other side, David Larrubia was growing into the game, producing several impressive individual runs.
The match remained very even, with little presence in either penalty area and hardly any clear chances. In the 36th minute, Estanis tried his luck for the visitors with a low drive that went just wide of the right post. Then, on the counterattack, the visiting number 39 fired over the crossbar.
At half-time, Luis García’s side held a narrow lead, with the tie level on aggregate.
After the restart, Joaquín had Málaga’s first chance with a curling effort from the left side of the attack (50’). Chupe, with a header from a corner in the 57th minute, forced a brilliant save from Horkas. Five minutes later, Larrubia tried his luck from the edge of the box, but the visiting goalkeeper collected it safely.
Funes made his first substitutions in minute 67: Dani Lorenzo and Izan Merino were replaced by Adrián Niño and Rafa Rodríguez. Shortly after, La Rosaleda erupted. Joaquín, with a powerful shot placed right against the post, found the back of the net (1-1, 70’).
In the 74th minute, Niño, in his first involvement, had a chance to make it 2-1 on the counterattack, but his one-on-one was denied by Horkas. With 15 minutes left, Ramón came on for a well-received Chupe, marking Málaga’s third substitution.
In the 78th minute, Manu Fuster sent a shot over the crossbar in Las Palmas’ first response after Málaga’s equaliser. Then in minute 86, Kirian also tried his luck with an effort that went just wide of the right post. A minute later, Darko and Aaron Ochoa came on to replace Dotor and the goalscorer Joaquín.
And after an endless stoppage time of more than eight minutes, during which Larrubia and Ramón could have extended the lead on two deadly counterattacks, the referee blew the final whistle and euphoria took over players and fans alike. The 2-1 aggregate score sends Málaga CF through to the promotion final the First Division, where they will face UD Almería.
Vamos, Málaga!
