Defeat for the Juvenil ‘A’ in the Copa del Rey (1-2)

It was a special afternoon for the Blue and White Juvenil 'A' team. After beating FC Barcelona at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper a few weeks ago, Luis Bueno's team faced this match with the hope and motivation of being able to reach the Final Four. The Federación Malagueña hosted the 1,200 fans who gathered in the stands.

Andrés, Plaza, Samu, Omar, Benito, Izan, Calvo ©, De la Lama, Rubén, Contreras and Rafita were the starting players selected by Luis Bueno and his coaching team. Málaga, encouraged by the great atmosphere in the stands, got off to an intense start and attempted to control possession. Plaza and Calvo teamed up in the first few minutes on the right wing, putting Real Madrid left-back Yusi in trouble.

Little by little, Madrid counteracted the locals’ momentum until, in minute 15, they made the most of a decisive action to go ahead on the scoreboard. Manuel Ángel entered the Malaguista box and Álex Calvo, trying to snatch the ball from him, blocked him from behind. The referee signalled a penalty and the Real Madrid number 8 was in charge of converting from the 11-metre mark and making it 0-1 on the scoreboard.

Málaga didn’t manage to recover and remained uncomfortable on the pitch. Whereas a confident Madrid continued to approach Andrés' goal with danger. Faced with this situation, the visitor's second goal was not long in coming.

Yusi gained possession on the left wing and, after outwitting Plaza, he launched a cross that Gonzalo finished with power to get past Andrés, who was unable to to avoid the 0-2 deficit. With this goal, Álvaro Arbeloa’s team increased their lead before the first half hour (24'). The visitors kept their foot on the accelerator against a Málaga looking to pull together. Gonzalo could have scored the third, but Andrés deflected the ball with a great hand save. After half-time, the dynamic of the match altered.

In the 50^th minute, Andrés launched a quick counterattack so that Plaza drove and Calvo made a great cross that was cleared by the Madrid defence. A fast action that served as a warning of the intensity with which Luis Bueno's boys faced the second half. A minute later, another dizzying action left Rubén alone on the left wing. The Blue and White number 9, when he attracted the defenders as he entered the area, gave up the ball for Álex Calvo to score the 1-2 (51'). Málaga faced nearly 40 minutes with just one goal difference to make a comeback.

After an hour of play, Luis Bueno made some changes. Usama and Héctor provided fresh legs to keep up the pace of the game, which became increasingly direct. Málaga attacked from the outside and enjoyed multiple set pieces. Contreras tried his luck with a header after a good assist from Samu from the left, but his attempt went wide. Later, Tomás, Tomé and Pablo joined play.

Faced with the Malaguista positioning, completely committed to the search for an equaliser, Madrid was able to take advantage of some of their transitions. Gonzalo and Ginés monopolised Madrid's actions in the final stretch, but they were unable to score.

Consequently, despite the team’s honour and pride, Málaga failed to go level and therefore miss out on the Copa del Rey Final Four. Juvenil 'A' represented the MCF Academy in the best possible way. It’s about pride, hard work and never giving up.

Heads held high, Malaguistas.