Insistence and faith to claim a point from Gran Canaria (2-2)
All square between Málaga CF and UD Las Palmas on matchday 31 of LaLiga SmartBank. Fran Sol and Calvo – making his debut – scored the Blue and White goals in a very even match.
It was a humid evening at Estadio de Gran Canaria with a lot at stake for both teams. Each side faced LaLiga SmartBank matchday 31 with different objectives. On the one hand, UD Las Palmas sought to defend the leadership that SD Eibar had taken over, whilst Málaga CF wanted to narrow the gap with the teams in the lower part of the standings.
Given the absences in the Blue and White midfield, Pellicer’s starting-11 featured a five-strong defence. Ruben Yanez; Delmás, Ramalho, Burgos, Juande, Cristian; Villalba, Ramón, Febas, Lago Junior; and Fran Sol were chosen by the coach.
The home side got off to an impetuous start, spurred on by the fans, who didn’t take long to get ahead. The referee, after a VAR review, awarded a penalty to the locals for a handball by Burgos in the Malaguista area. The Yellow captain, Viera was in charge of surpassing Yáñez to go 1-0 in the lead (5').
The goal, far from undermining the visitors’ morale, spurred them on to seek an equaliser.
Cristian served up a great ball from a lateral free kick, yet Juande came up against a fist save by the local keeper. Following another VAR check, another penalty was given. Fran Sol converted from the 11-metre mark, outwitting Valles to make it 1-1 on the scoreboard at the Estadio de Gran Canaria (19').
Pellicer's men weren’t satisfied with the draw and played with great intelligence, generating further chances. The clearest came just before half-time. The Malaguista number '9' led a great counterattack that, after Fran Villalba's return, he didn’t manage to finish as his shot sailed over the crossbar.
As the second half resumed, Málaga continued to be engaged in the match, although Las Palmas attempted fluid combinations in midfield. In minute 60, Jozabed came on for Ramón. The team looked for the goal through lateral crosses to Fran Sol, but were unlucky in the final metres.
The entry of Appiah and Rubén Castro in the 72nd minute kept Pellicer's team fresh up front in search of an opportunity to go in front. However, the match changed again with 15 minutes remaining. Pejiño put the locals ahead with a powerful and well-placed shot from distance that Rubén Yáñez didn’t reach (2-1, 75').
Loren and Álex Calvo, who was making his debut with the Malaguista first team, came on to look for the equaliser in the final minutes of play. The match seemed to deteriorate, but the homegrown player, who made his debut as a Malaguista, also made his scoring debut.
The winger moved into the fierce local defence with a surprising and effective individual slalom. Then, with his left foot, he took the match level at 2-2 to the surprise of the stands.
There was one last chance for the locals, but Yáñez once again proved secure in goal with a save of extraordinary merit with added time already over.
At full-time the points were shared between the teams in a hard-fought match for Sergio Pellicer’s men.
