Very good intentions, a worked plan, all the dedication in the world, great strategic intelligence, but Espanyol lacked the most important thing, the goal. Only two shots on goal in the entire match were the very poor baggage of a team that is in relegation, that will continue there for another week and that needs to win at home to get out of the dark tunnel it is going through. The draw, however, is not a bad result, as long as the three points are achieved against Valencia next Wednesday.
Given the loss of El Hilali and Jofre due to suspension, Manolo González did not lift the punishment of Pere Milla, Aguado or Véliz, who were singled out and removed for sporting and non-sporting reasons. Instead, the coach from Lugo preferred to move Carlos Romero out of position and place him in the center of the field and repeat his commitment to Antoniu Roca on the right wing. An alignment that shows that the absence of resources is combined with the coach’s lack of confidence in players theoretically capable of playing in the First Division.
González’s plan was to gain defensive balance in the middle with four men and the ability to project himself in attack with speed. And Espanyol was the team that he claims, an orderly, supportive and direct team. From the beginning, the government conceded to Osasuna, with whom Vicente Moreno, the last coach who managed to keep the parakeets in First Division, returned to the RCDE Stadium. The Navarrese monopolized the ball for long periods, but were never able to find cracks in the defense in the parakeets’ own field. And after each robbery, even launched by Joan García, Espanyol ran into space with a clearly prepared slogan.
In this direct game Antoniu Roca and Carlos Romero especially shone. Success of the coach, who has managed to get the youth player to settle and begin to show his virtues, which are many, in dribbling and driving. Romero, for his part, appeared along the entire attacking strip to leave the left lane for Oliván. His mobility baffled the Osasuna defenders.
But Espanyol’s good intentions did not translate into shots on goal, one of the great deficits of this team. A last pass that is too short, or too long, a wrong control. And the chances to limbo. Puado was close to hitting a shot from the edge of the area, but was bothered by an opponent at the right moment. Several lateral centers encouraged the stands, who understood the context of the game and constantly pushed their team.
The perica proposal, of chasing rivals and going on the counter, entailed a physical demand that before the break was already noticed in several players, drowned by repeating efforts with hardly any rest. Nothing changed after the restart. Espanyol maintained intensity in each of its actions and Osasuna temporized the game to advance patiently. In Espanyol’s first mismatch, Raúl García had the clearest chance of the match up to that point, but his shot went wide.
He took action on the González matter and removed Roca, a victim of the effort, to introduce Cheddira. More vertigo, more intention. The coach wanted victory and the scenario, against an excessively speculative rival, was propitious. The stands also felt it, which increased the decibels with each action.
Rubén Peña surprised with a great unmarking and a shot that went wide. And moments later came the first shot on goal of the game. A shot by Pol Lozano from the front that Herrera deflected with an immense save for a corner. That action once again connected the crowd, who felt that their team deserved more. The lateral centers followed one another. The actions in which only the last pass failed were constant. Puado was the protagonist in several of them, in which he did not have a one-on-one with the goalkeeper by inches. Cheddira, in individual action, shot over Herrera in added time.
In the end, when the tie was already a fact, the chants against the owner Chen Yansheng returned. Manolo González will continue in office, at least against Valencia and in Las Palmas. Those two games will mark his immediate future. Also that of a team that wants to but, at the moment, cannot.
#Espanyol #find #Osasuna
