Okazaki makes his debut in second draw of the pre-season (1-1)
All square for Málaga CF against Córdoba CF, at the José Burgos Quintana in Coín, in the second friendly of the pre-season. Juanto put Córdoba in front whilst Hugo evened up the scoreboard during the debut of latest Blue and White signing, Shinji Okazaki.
A warm afternoon for this match which included homegrown and reserve team players within Víctor Sánchez del Amo’s squad, all in the starting-11 except for South American players Rolón and Michael Santos. Córdoba took an early lead thanks to a goal from Juanto from outside the area (0-1, 10’).
Hicham was incisive on the right wing, although the match was running with the usual pre-season automatisms such as abrupt play, little rhythm and continual interruptions, particularly in the Córdoba half.
Following the usual cooling break during this summer season, the latest Malaguista signing Okazaki joined the match in substitution of Iván Jaime (31’). At half-time the rival maintained a 0-1 lead.
There was a carousel of changes to the Blue and White line-up in the second half, with all new players, except for Shinji Okazaki. The Japanese forward forced a foul on the edge of the area that led to a great intervention by Becerra following a Renato attempt in 55’. After the first quarter of an hour, in 60’, Javi Ontiveros replaced Okazaki.
Soon after, the Blue and Whites equalised. Renato assisted homegrown player Hugo from the right who sank the ball into the back of the net (1-1, 66’). The Portuguese winger, a minute later, appeared again with a pass that was almost converted into the second goal by Ontiveros. Córdoba didn’t feature on the attack until 73’, with multiple occasions that Gonzalo impeded.
In the final stages, Málaga went all out for a win, especially Hugo, but the duel against Córdoba ended in a tie, the second out of two so far during this pre-season for MCF.
Match stats: Málaga CF 1 – Córdoba CF 1
Málaga CF
First half: Kellyan; Iván Rodríguez, Abqar, Juande, Mikel; Ramón, Rolón, Iván Jaime (Okazaki, 31’); Hicham, Mula and M. Santos.
Second half: Gonzalo; Cifuentes, Luis Muñoz, Diego Glez., Juankar; R. Santos, K. Bare, Boulahroud, Hugo; Adrián and Okazaki (Ontiveros, 61’).
Goals: 0-1 (10’): Juanto. 1-1 (66’): Hugo.
Referee: Raúl Chavet García (Málaga).
Information: Estadio José Burgos Quintana (Coín), good turnout. Málaga CF’s second friendly of the pre-season.
