Hard-fought victory in Albacete worth a place in the play-offs (1-2)
Victory for Málaga at the impregnable Carlos Belmonte, down to 10 men for 50 minutes of play. Superb goals from Ontiveros and N’Diaye allowed Víctor Sánchez del Amo’s men to claim the three points and third place in the standings.
Málaga CF and Albacete Balompié faced each other on LaLiga 1|2|3 matchday 41 this Tuesday evening. The match was scheduled to be held last Sunday, however following the sad death of José Antonio Reyes, who was part of Extremadura UD, the unified match timetable was postponed.
The Carlos Belmonte was the setting of the duel between two teams close together in the standings; the locals (3rd place, 71 points) and the Blue and Whites (5th place, 68 points). A stadium that has seen ‘Alba’ defeated only once all season.
The home side attempted to control the initial stages of the match, however Víctor Sánchez del Amo’s defence neutralised their attacks. As the minutes advanced, Málaga was settling into the game and began to frequent the rival goal area.
The exchange of blows followed until in minute 17, Javi Ontiveros scored a superb goal to put his team in front. It was a work of art, traced to the goal he scored in the last league match against Zaragoza. He sought out a gap from the front and fired the ball into the back of Nadal’s goal (0-1).
Following the goal, Málaga insisted on a second. Ontiveros and Blanco Leschuk generated further chances in just seven minutes. However, at half-time, the scoreboard remained at 0-1 to the visitors.
In the second half, the Blue and Whites – dressed in the black strip tonight – picked up where they left off in the first half, going all out on the attack. In 52’, Alfred N’Diaye increased their lead with a precise shot from in front of the target, grazing the post (0-2).
Nevertheless, just two minutes later, striker Blanco Leschuk was shown his second yellow card, leaving the Malaguistas with 10 men. With superiority on the field of play, the locals pulled one back thanks to Zozulia in 57’ (1-2).
Despite being a man down and the blow to morale after conceding a goal, the visitors stayed calm and held on to their lead until the end. Three points to allow Málaga CF a place in the promotion play-offs to the First Division.
