Málaga CF and SD Ponferradina faced one another on LaLiga SmartBank matchday 14 at the iconic ‘El Toralín’ stadium this Friday. Blue and White coach, Víctor Sánchez del Amo watched the match from the stands, serving the corresponding suspension following his expulsion in the previous league game against Real Oviedo. For this reason, his second in command David Dóniga headed up the team from the dugout.

The Costa del Sol outfit sought to take the lead on the scoreboard in the opening stages. The Blue and Whites – wearing pink on this occasion - had various opportunities to go in front with quick and incisive play on the wings that produced different situations close to the goal. Hicham and Antoñín shared the clearest goal chances in the first half, whilst Munir responded in a superb way to two approaches from the local side. The first, a distant and precise shot from a direct free kick in 28’, with the goalkeeper showing his strength blocking the ball without any difficulty. At half-time the scoreboard still showed 0-0.

The second half didn’t get off to a good start for the Malaguistas, as defender Lombán had to be substituted by Diego González in 49’ due to muscular discomfort.

Both sides fought to dominate the ball in the wide area of the pitch for the remainder of play. Adrían had another chance to score his fourth personal goal following a great personal display by Antoñín; unfortunately, the ball came very close to the post in minute 67.

As the match entered the final stages, Ponferradina’s veteran forward Yuri put his side in the lead (1-0, 81’). Barely three minutes later, again Yuri narrowly missed out on another goal to increase his team’s advantage, but Mikel cleared the ball away from the goal with a header to prevent the locals taking a 2-0 lead.

In the last breath of the game, Adrián headed a pass from the back line, but the rival keeper blocked the attempt. At the full-time whistle, the final score was 1-0.