Málaga CF knew how important victory was tonight in order to seal a place in the elite next season. Bernd Schuster’s men started off well in their quest to dominate possession and generate scoring opportunities. Elche CF were also determined to claim tonight’s three points in order to avoid the relegation zone.
In the 9th minute, an oversight by Antunes led to a dangerous attack by the rival, forcing a tricky save for Willy and a subsequent corner kick following a Flávio clearance. Another lost ball for Málaga soon ended at the feet of Rodrigues, who took a shot from nearly 30 metres away which ended up right on target. The visitors had taken an early 0-1 lead, which was something the Blue and Whites were not expecting.
The most promising goal chance for Málaga up to now came in minute 16. A fantastic pass from Duda to Santa Cruz led the Paraguayan-born striker to the goal area unmarked in front of Manu, but a corner kick was awarded as hopes of an equaliser were dashed.
Fran Escribá’s Elche caused more trouble for the Blue and Whites in minute 34, as a powerful shot by Márquez collided with the far post of Willy Caballero’s goal area.
In minute 39, a good display from Málaga on the left wing allowed Camacho to pass to Iakovenko who tried to get the locals on the score board, but failed to find the target. Málaga maintained a strong determination to equalise, but came up against a solid performance in defence from Elche.
At half time, the ‘Malaguistas’ were 0-1 down.
In the second half, Elche tried their best to prevent Málaga’s rhythm of play, despite the Blue and Whites’ attempts to draw level. Schuster brought on Pablo Pérez in place of Samuel, and Juanmi substituted Camacho, who was suffering with problems to his right leg. Jesús Gámez was forced to abandon play minutes later due to injury, so the German-born coach brought on Eliseu.
Málaga struggled to get into the match, as disagreements and time-wasting impeded the rhythm of play. A header into goal from Elche led to a good save by Willy, as he prevented the visitors increasing their lead further.
The ‘Malaguistas’ tried everything they could to turn the game around, but came up against a difficult rival with every action on the pitch resulting in time-wasting. Tonight’s defeat prevents Málaga from mathematically sealing their place in the First Division next season.
Match stats
MÁLAGA CF: Willy, Jesús Gámez (Eliseu, min. 60), Weligton, Flavio, Antunes, Camacho (Juanmi, min. 52), Sergi Darder, Iakovenko, Duda, Samuel (Pablo Pérez, min. 46) and Santa Cruz.
ELCHE CF: Manu, Damián, Botía, Rubén Pérez, Boakye (Cristian, min. 51), Coro (Carles Gil, min. 74), Márquez (Lombán, min. 83), Pelegrín, Cisma, Sánchez and Rodríguez.
GOAL:
0-1: Rodrigues (min. 10).
REFEREE: Estrada Fernández, ‘Colegio Catalán’. Yellow cards were shown to: Sánchez (min. 18), Damián (min. 25), Márquez (min. 51), Duda (min. 67) and Manu (min. 94). Elche’s substitute goalkeeper, Toño was shown the red card (min. 67), as well as Botía (min. 81).
INFORMATION: 36th BBVA League game of the season held at La Rosaleda, in front of 21,329 fans.
