The Málaga squad, on this occasion managed by Rubén Cousillas, the Club’s deputy manager, began the match with a line-up marked by the absences of the international players, who this week are away on duty with their respective countries. In addition there are several key players on leave with injury and so couldn’t make the trip to Jaén.
However, these changes didn’t take their toll on the Málaga team in the first half of the match, in which there were some great chances, created mainly by Joaquín and Baptista. But as time went on, and as Real Jaén began to prove themselves to Málaga and to their fans, they began to create many more chances, and began to put pressure on Málaga’s defence and goal on various occasions.
It was during one of these occasions when Jaen’s Pedrito, in a great personal move, overcame Rubén, bringing the home crowd to their feet as they took the score to 1-0 against Málaga. And so the first half ended, although Seba Fernández did almost bring it to a draw as the half time whistle blew.
The second half began with a carousel of changes, especially for Málaga who substituted a total of eight players. In fact, in the end, the only member of the squad who didn’t get out on the pitch was Willy Caballero.
With so many changes, Málaga took control of the ball and began to create some more good chances. And in one of these opportunities, a draw was achieved: Apoño made a great a pass to Buonanotte, who from the depths of the penalty area bounced it back out to Seba, who then knocked it into the back of Jaén’s net.
From this point on, both teams had other chances to score, but for all the good performances in all positions, the 90 minutes concluded with a draw, 1-1. So it all came down to penalties to win the Trophy.
And with five shots each, it was Málaga CF who took the prize, winning 4 shots to 3 against Real Jaén, who proved themselves to be active and courageous opponents throughout the match.
