Great effort and fans’ support, yet no reward against Albacete (3-2)
Defeat for Málaga CF against Albacete Balompié, at the Carlos Belmonte, on matchday 27 of LaLiga SmartBank. The goals from Lago Junior (16’) and Fran Sol (34’), from corner kicks, weren’t enough to score points.
It was a cold afternoon in Albacete, but there was a large number of Malaguistas in the Carlos Belmonte stands. Nearly 400 Blue and White fans travelled to Castilla-La Mancha to support the team for this league game. On the pitch there were several changes. Ruben Yanez; Delmás, Ramalho, Andrés Caro, Cristian; Febas, N'Diaye, Luis Muñoz, Lago Junior; Loren and Fran Sol made up Pellicer's starting-11.
The match got off to a difficult start for the team, who didn’t feel comfortable on the pitch. In minute 4, Andrés was surprised by a ball bounce and Higinio found himself in front of Yáñez, whom he surpassed with a shot close to the post to go 1-0 up.
Málaga reacted and went in search of a goal via textbook play. Making the most of a great strategic move cleared by the local goalkeeper, the team enjoyed another chance from the corner kick. This time, it culminated in an equaliser. Cristian passed to Febas and the left-back served a great ball to the far post, where along came a powerful Lago Junior to take the match level at 1-1 (16').
Half an hour into the game, Cristian again served up a corner from the same wing and achieved the same result. Another Malaguista goal, but this time from a direct kick into the area. Fran Sol entered at the near post and crossed the ball with a superb header to put the team ahead (34'). The 1-2 lead reflected the momentary Malaguista comeback.
However, the fate of the match soon changed. In minute 37, Trujillo Suárez sent off Luis Muñoz after two almost consecutive yellow cards. Having to adapt to a new game plan, Pellicer brought on Genaro for Loren to reinforce midfield. The team held on to the result until half-time.
As play resumed, the local side came out with great intensity to take advantage of their numerical superiority, and it was Manu Fuster who scored the 2-2. A left-footer from the local number '10' outwitted Yáñez from in front of the area (55').
Shortly afterwards, in the 62nd minute, despite the uncertainty of the VAR, which corrected the offside signalled by the linesman, Dubasin sealed the comeback taking the locals 3-2 up. Despite having just 10 men, Málaga immediately sought out the equaliser. Juande, Chavarría and Rubén Castro (67'), as well as Fran Villalba (77'), came on to provide fresh legs and counteract the team's fatigue.
Yet the scoreboard didn’t move again, and the final result was a 3-2 win for Albacete, leaving Málaga CF in the relegation zone after 27 LaLiga SmartBank matches.
