CD THADER – 0 CD OLIMPIC – 0
BY STEVE HIBBERD
After last weeks mauling at Santa Pola, things couldn’t have got any worse for Thader, so Sundays goalless draw at home to Olimpic was a step in the right direction. Due to re seeding of Moi Gomez stadium pitch, the match was played at Formentera, the first of probably 3 or 4 whilst the new grass beds in. Lloyd resumed captaincy, replacing the injured Fran, as manager Noe Garcia strove for more consistency.
The hosts were close to taking the lead on 4 mins, when centre back Juan powered a header from a corner narrowly over the bar. Oscar became the first player in referee Sanchez notebook, for a nasty tackle, a sign of things to come! In a half of few chances, an over the top foul on Javi earned the culprit a yellow card, when on another day, Olimpic would have been reduced to 10 men. On 35 mins, a golden opportunity was squandered by Olimpic striker Gio, when following a right wing cross to the far post, he headed wide of an open goal from 5 yards. Pedro Juan ended the first half with a booking for dissent, one in which neither keeper had yet to work up a sweat.
Five mins into the new half, Chema produced the first of a string of outstanding saves, to deny Olimpic sub Mauro a certain goal. Then from the resultant corner, Alberto put the ball in the net, only for celebrations to be cut short when a free kick was awarded for a foul. Juan unceremoniously scythed down an opponent, earning him a booking, as Thader were forced to defend for their lives. On the hour mark, another worldly save by man of the match Chema, once again denied the impressive Mauro, then from the corner, Gio headed wide of the far post. Mauro thought he’d broken his duck on 75 mins, but the linesman’s flag for offside came to Thader’s rescue. From the next Olimpic attack, stout defending repelled a number of shots, as Lloyd’s men were putting their bodies on the line. A horrendous over the top tackle by Olimpic defender Cares on Pascual, resulted in a free kick but no further action, an example of ref Sanchez inconsistency. Thader sub Kike was next to be cautioned for taking one for the team. From the free kick on 82 mins, Luino headed wide, as the hosts were hanging on by a thread. With time ticking away, Javi was next into the refs naughty book, before Chema once again performed heroics from the free kick. Following another Chema super save, Olimpic manager received the only red card of the match, presumably for comments made from the bench. So, although Thader can be reasonably happy with a point and a clean sheet, manager Noe needs to address why his team failed to produce a single shot on target throughout the whole match.
Next weekend, Thader have an away match against Benidorm, which will be played at Villajoyosa, because they too are re seeding their stadium’s pitch. Check CD Thader facebook page for details of when this match will take place.
