ASPE UD – 1 CD THADER – 1
When Quino received his marching orders after 84 mins, it looked odds on that Thader would lose to a solitary 90 second goal, but instead they produced their best football of the match. Surprisingly, both Rosquin and Lloyd were relegated to the subs bench, but both would play major parts following their entrance after the interval.
It was a culture shock on arriving at Los Fuentes Stadium, Aspe, for this mountainous region was a far cry from the sun-soaked climate of Rojales. In fact, it was brass monkey weather, which caught out the more naive ex pat fan.
Over the last few seasons, Thader have made a habit of conceding early goals, and this match was no exception. Almost a carbon copy of the previous weeks goal for Murada, the defence were slow to react to the danger, resulting in Chema having to pick the ball out of his net far too early, following a shot inside his far post.
Things then got a bit silly, as the ref proceeded to book 3 players inside the first 9 mins. Dani Lucas had a good effort which just missed the target on 13 mins, then 8 mins later, his Thader team mate Ruben, forced a magnificent acrobatic save from Aspe’s keeper. Having already been booked, Javi was fortunate not to collect another on 35 mins, much to the disgust of the few home fans sitting nearby.
A rather attractive lady assistant ref came to Thader’s rescue on 37 mins, when she correctly adjudged that a 2nd Aspe goal was offside. Dani Lucas became Thader’s 3rd booking of a frustrating half, when he was deemed to have dived inside the penalty area, although from my vantage point it did look like a foul.
Pascual was the next recipient of a yellow card, as Thader were still coming to terms with the refs’ lack of tolerance. Jony tried a long-range effort on 55 mins, which although being fumbled, failed to attract a necessary follow up. Straight up the other end, and it was a case of a game of pin ball gone mad!
No less than on 5 occasions did Thader’s defence attempt to clear the ball from their box up field, but each time it was returned with interest. Quino’s red card was for a reckless challenge on Aspe’s keeper, although a more lenient ref may have decided that the ball was there to be won, and issued only a caution. Nevertheless, the big number 9 will now miss 3 matches, which is one hell of a blow to his team.
With 90 minutes about to show on the giant electric clock, a perfectly floated cross by Rosquin, found Lloyd lurking at the far post. Such joy and relief followed, as the vintage centre back hammered the ball into the back of the net. Get in there!! Inside stoppage time, Lloyd should have got a brace, but from Berni’s cross, his header lacked direction.
The drama wasn’t over there, for from the very last kick of the match, Aspe squandered an easy goal scoring opportunity. A 1-1 draw was probably a fair result, but being the 3rd such score line on the trot, early season promise is showing signs of waning.
Thader still occupy a playoff spot with 18 points from 9 games played, but the chasing pack is getting ever closer. Next Sunday 14 November, ko 1130, at Moi Gomez Stadium, rock bottom Alicante University will be the visitors, for another Preferente league match encounter.
