The team went out full of determination from the start, highlighting in Romero’s 11 a revamped central defence with the debut of Luis Hernández, forming a duo with Demichelis. In minute 6’, Juanpi, with a long shot, and Chory launching the ball to the right post of local keeper Mario, generated the first chances. After 15 minutes, a Rosales shot that Juanpi headed out formed the prelude to the most promising opportunity of the first half.
Santos, in 17’, forced a penalty that the Uruguayan striker himself couldn’t convert, due to an impressive save by Mario. Málaga clearly dominated the rival with increased ball possession and approaches to the area, seemingly not affected by the poor state of the pitch. Again Santos, in 26’, powered a cross from the right following a good counter-attack. In response to a tense shot from Chory, Luis Hernández, during his debut, forced another save by goalkeeper, Mario in minute 28.
Osasuna, with both Torres and León as the danger elements, only disturbed Kameni during a sporadic corner kick in the final part of the first half. At the half-time whistle, the scoreboard remained untouched, 0-0.
The second half got underway with the return of Charles to the field of play, in substitution of Recio. The Málaga-born midfielder suffered a blow to his right elbow in the first half, pending diagnostic tests. Osasuna showed improvement thanks to strong work on the wings from Berenguer and Clerc, however Málaga also boosted their power, particularly on the right, with the return of Keko Gontan, replacing Juanpi in 55’.
It was precisely with a shot from Keko, that Charles was unable to head effectively, when a new occasion arrived for the Malaguistas in minute 63. The match progressed and the locals reaped an excessive reward thanks to a Causic goal (1-0, 76’), following a previous offside action. Ontiveros came on in place of Santos, who sustained a strong blow to the head, and is awaiting tests.
As always, Málaga didn’t give up in the face of adversity. Imperial in defence, Luis Hernández, showed on the attack why his throw-ins are so dangerous. A colossal throw-in from the left by the ‘24’, and it was Camacho, of course, who headed the ball into the back of the net to level up the game (1-1, 79’). A deflected shot from Ontiveros, and Charles, heading a pass from Juankar, could have taken the lead in 84’. In the 92nd minute, it was precisely Charles who was brought down inside the area, but the referee declared a previous hand ball from the Brazilian number ‘9’.
The final 1-1 result reflected a hard-fought draw, keeping Málaga CF in 13th place in LaLiga Santander, with 22 points.
