Málaga CF and Granada CF each came away with a point from La Rosaleda on LaLiga SmartBank matchday 19. Rubén Castro put the Blue and Whites in the lead and José Callejón went level for the visitors.
A national holiday, on the Day of the Immaculate Conception and a midweek league fixture. Despite the rain there was a good atmosphere at Martiricos with a large presence of Granada fans in the stands.
On the pitch, Mel repeated the system of Yáñez in goal; Burgos, Ramalho and Escassi in defence; Hervías and Fomba as playmakers with Genaro on the defensive pivot; Luis Muñoz, Febas and Fran Villalba in midfield and Rubén Castro upfront.
Granada were quick to show their credentials, particularly the 'pichichi' of the category. Uzuni, in 16', had two clear chances. The first, disrupted by Yáñez. in 22' and 25' he reappeared, with assists and a shot that fortunately didn’t find the net. Secure at the back was Escassi, on the day he became the player with the most appearances (87) for MCF in the Second Division.
And, if there’s a Blue and White player chasing historical records, it’s Rubén Castro. In minute 36, with a brilliant manoeuvre, he forced rival keeper Raúl to intervene. A minute later, with a precise shot from the edge of the area, he opened the scoring (1-0, 37'). His fourth goal this season and number 282 between the First and Second Divisions, surpassing Zarra (281) and placing himself two goals behind Quini (284) as the top national scorer in history.
At half-time the home side remained in the lead, with the Malaguista fans savouring the stunning goal from the ‘killer’.
In the second half, Pepe Mel made a double substitution, bringing on N’Diaye and Javi Jiménez for Hervías and Luis Muñoz. The result, a defensive change with four elements; Ramalho and Jiménez on the wings and N’Diaye together with Genaro on the double pivot in a revamped 1-4-2-3-1 formation.
Granada, 10 minutes into the second half, got the equaliser. A one-on-one with Jorge Molina and Yáñez, with the Malaguista keeper touching just enough so the ball didn’t reach the net. The visitors stepped up their arrivals, especially from the right, with homegrown player Ricard highly active. The result of that push led to the Red and White goal by Callejón (1-1, 62').
Immediately afterwards, there was a change to the Blue and White homegrown players, with Dani Lorenzo coming on for Issa Fomba. In 72’, Loren joined the game in place of Ramalho in an attacking move by Mel. Five minutes later, Rubén Castro had the 2-1 that grazed the crossbar after touching a rival. Then in 82’, a penalty for Loren was initially signalled by the referee who, after consulting the VAR, was cancelled. Manolo Reina, for protesting on the bench, was shown his fifth yellow card of the campaign and will be out of action on Sunday in Ibiza.
Chavarría, for goal-scorer Castro, made a brilliant appearance in the 85th minute. No sooner had he joined play, he assisted Dani Lorenzo who sent the ball close to the right post. Callejón could have scored again in stoppage time, but the ball crashed into Yáñez’s crossbar from a free kick.
The rain worsened and both teams, exhausted by the effort, ended up with a point each. Point number 15 of the season for MCF, the same score as the upcoming league rival at the bottom of the standings, UD Ibiza.
