Thousands of pepper fans took to the outskirts of the Rico Pérez stadium on a day that Murcianism will never forget
Alicante was grana for a few hours. And not only the surroundings of the Rico Pérez, but also the center of the port city where many faithful Murcians decided to eat before finally marching to the stage of the final in front of the Peña Deportiva. The buses loaded with Murcian fans arrived around two in the afternoon and filled the two areas prepared to welcome the Murcian fans and spend the hours before the match. That wait was a total party, both on the outskirts of the field where the Federation of Supporters Clubs and the Raíjos Granas set up their base camp, as well as the Padre Fontova square, another Murcian focus, which was filled with people to enjoy in company the last hours before the most decisive game of the year.
Starting at half past three in the afternoon, the temperature before the game began to rise and the concentration of grana fans gradually approached the main door of Rico Pérez. The objective: to wait for the arrival of Mario Simón’s team. The many police officers present there cordoned off the area and a large tide began to take positions around the fences.
There were flares and chants in the welcome to the team, which was even more impressive than against Rayo Cantabria
Of course, the bus that entered first was the one from the Peña Deportiva with some soccer players inside who did not shrink from the red tide that was rebuked and decided to hit the windows. Total ecstasy, seasoned with smoke from a dozen flares included, came twenty minutes before five in the afternoon. The grana bus had to stop meters before the gate so that the grana footballers got off and walked the last meters before reaching the stadium amid applause, shouts, scarves in the wind and the smoke from the flares.
Manolo Molina, the architect of this team, was the first to get out of the vehicle leading an expedition in which not only were the summoned and the four discarded, but also Fran García, Iván Casado and Antonio López, three footballers who have contributed to the Murcia reached this final and that due to various injuries they had to give up their chips for the arrival of other teammates.
There were flares and chants in the welcome to the team, which was even more impressive than against Rayo Cantabria
The stands of the Rico Pérez, especially the north end, the grandstand and the side stand, were quickly filled with red shirts and Murcia supporters. Also the box, where along with Agustín Ramos, president of Real Murcia and all his directors, was Fernando López Miras, president of the Community, who did not hesitate to approach Alicante to witness the possible promotion of Murcia. Just like José Antonio Serrano, mayor of Murcia; Fran Sánchez, General Director of Sports, and Pedro García Rex, Councilor for Sports of the City Council of the capital.
The keys to the game
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1. 12,000 Murcianistas demonstrated yesterday the strength of a shield that shines again eleven years later
The Real Murcia fans have been a fundamental part of Grana’s rise to the First RFEF. Yesterday he pushed from hours before the game and also throughout the match. He made his footballers draw strength from where they didn’t have it and that the Peña Deportiva, especially at the end of the game, understood that drawing the final was going to be complicated. In the last two weeks he has shown that he is First Class with two massive displacements unimaginable for such a low category. Yesterday, from children to veteran fans, they enjoyed a promotion eleven years after the one achieved against Lugo. -
2. Ganet took a shot out of his hat at the worst time for his team, which is already grana history
He wasn’t playing a brilliant game and had even missed the two shots he tried from outside the box. But on the third attempt he hit the ball against the Balearic goalpost to score a goal that has already gone down in the history of Real Murcia. He has been a key player in certain phases of the season, especially when he has been fresh physically. In fact, together with Inoussa, he led the scoring weight in the final stretch of the season. The Equatoguinean midfielder had character and inventiveness to put his team ahead at a moment in the match that was key in terms of mood. -
3. Murcia fired ex officio in the last section of the clash to avoid giving rise to the Balearic tie
Real Murcia managed to anesthetize the clash against the Peña Deportiva and in the final minutes hardly any football was played at the Rico Pérez. The grana team pulled ex officio to let die a game they had in hand. In fact, he did not go crazy looking for a third goal which, although it could have sentenced the final earlier, could also have made Murcia weaker at the back. In fact, the Balearic team barely generated clear scoring chances for him and Serna hardly had to show off in a duel that will not be remembered for his footballing brilliance but will be remembered for being exciting until the last moment. -
4. The mental strength of a locker room that overcame several moments of difficulty yesterday
Although it may seem otherwise, it was not easy for the Grana players to play yesterday’s game. Above all, on the emotional and mental level, since a defeat in a completely grana stadium and against such an unknown rival in the national football scene, would have been a hard blow difficult to assume in the future. But the best thing was that, despite Peña Deportiva’s equalizer at the start of the second half, the Grana team recovered and did not stop believing in themselves. He knew how to endure the minutes in which his rival was better and went up, although yesterday his legs weighed more than normal due to anxiety. -
5. Inoussa’s departure and his first two flashes of quality woke up a crowd that adores him
Mario Simón is one of the great architects of Real Murcia’s great season and also of yesterday’s clash. Although he opted for Saura to start, he decided to put more muscle after the Peña Deportiva’s goal by placing Armando in midfield. He also decided to remove the Swedish Inoussa, although he had accumulated several weeks of inactivity and was not one hundred percent. But the mere presence of him made the fans wake up in a key moment of a game that could change the history of the club. Inoussa, like Ganet and Carrasco, among many others, are already in the Murcian imagination.
The worst, the loud music that spoiled the pre-match and deafened the chants of a grana crowd more effusive and confident than ever, eager to see their team win and cut a streak of eleven years without savoring a joy. All that gave the same. At the end of the game, thousands of pepper fans rushed onto the pitch and invaded it, all of them aware that they were experiencing a historic moment.
#Alicante #grana #paradise