UD Petrelense – 0 CD Thader Rojales – 1
By Steve Hibberd
On a rain-soaked mid-week evening, Thader made hard work of dispensing with a poor Petrel side. With only 2 victories all season, the hosts are all but relegated to regional division football, but they made the men from Rojales fight all the way.
Manager Raul Mora made some enforced changes from the defeat to Benferri, with every available player getting a slot on the team sheet. Injuries to front men Quino and Calderon (out for rest of the season), have left the team with few options in the attacking department.
A delightful right-wing cross by Javi, found Nino perfectly placed, unmarked in the centre of the goal on 4 mins. The tall centre forward made no mistake with his firm header, that gave Fernando in Petrel’s goal no chance.
Considering the desperate plight that the hosts find themselves in, a neutral would have prophesied that the floodgates would open, but incredibly that was the end of goal scoring for the night. In fact, Petrel did put the ball in the net shortly afterwards, but an offside flag cut short their celebrations.
Nino almost doubled his tally on 7 mins, but a shot from a Kike assist was well saved. From the next attack, Petrel wasted a glorious opportunity, when with just Sergio to beat, Joan blasted over the bar. Thader’s captain Lloyd, forced Fernando to tip a goal bound long range kick aside for a corner on 15 mins. Following a frantic period of end of end excitement, the pace slowed to something more acceptable for this level of football.
Only the paintwork denied Cabrera from extending his sides lead, as his 25-yard rocket deserved better. On the stroke of half time, twas Lloyd who again tried his luck from distance, but this time his shot lacked accuracy.
Dani Lucas could only watch as his 30-yard effort missed the target, then it was the Javi/Nino combination which almost paid dividends again. We were treated to one way traffic, when first another Dani Lucas blockbuster was well saved, then a goalmouth scramble resulted in Kike missing a sitter from point blank range.
On 70 mins from a corner, an unmarked Gugo headed over, a real let off for Thader. Petrel were now at their most dangerous, as strong appeals for a penalty, then a shot just off target, were a wakeup call Thader needed. Cabrera headed over from Lloyd’s free kick on 81 mins, but the last word fell to Petrel, Sergio spilling a shot on 89 mins, but luckily a teammate was on hand to clear the danger up field.
With matches coming thick and fast, a return to Moi Gomez stadium 4 days later, would see the visit of local rivals Almoradi.
