Marcos Fernández gives the Beticos the victory in a passionate small derby (1-0)

On the Luis del Sol grass the two teams demonstrated their arrests within a category as demanding and very tight in the table as this First RFEF. Betis Deportivo and Sevilla Atlético showed themselves without complexes, at the limit in the duels in a match with many cards and perhaps with excessive haste in the final meters that prevented the double score from being broken until the final moments of the cold Sevillian night. This did not prevent the brilliant flashes of the Souleymanes, Dani Pérez or a Marcos hero and scorer on the Betic shore, and of high-level players like Antonetti or a Mateo Mejía who already knows what it is to defend the team of Sevilla Mayor.

Both squads knew how to display their quality weapons in different phases of the duel, with those young people who opposed breaking down the first team’s door and even with interesting resources from the benches to try to stir up a contest in which the stalemate was never broken. In the first half, Betis was better. And Alberto Flores, the best of the franjirrojos. Arzu’s team came out with greater intensity, trying to corner their rival and looking for errors in the release of the ball. The host soon took control.

Betis also did damage from set pieces, taking advantage of their corner kicks and lateral fouls. Thus, at 18 minutes came the clearest chance of the duel so far, with a ball passed by Lucas Alcázar that Marcos Fernández finished off inside the small area and was stopped by Alberto Flores in two halves. Jesús Rodríguez, who the day before had played with Pellegrini’s first team against Helsinki, tried hard on the left although he was always well covered in his radius of action by the incombustible Darío and the help of Mejía.

Before half an hour, another Betic attack by Marcos Fernández forced Alberto to deflect the ball for a corner. The Betic siege was already a reality, but the Sevilla Atlético goalkeeper was not willing to facilitate the celebration of the locals. He later responded with a great intervention in a header from Souleymane to avoid a goal. Another very dangerous cross shot from the Senegalese that narrowly missed became the last notable action of the first half.

Betis was superior. Galván moved pieces at half-time to try to turn the tables, pulling pieces like Manu Bueno and Di Massimo. And the truth is that Sevilla Atlético improved noticeably, balancing their forces with their enemy after the restart. So much so that at the start of the second half it was the visiting team that could have scored. Guilherme’s mitt before Antonetti’s point-blank shot prevented the goal. The action was repeated shortly after with the same protagonists: the Puerto Rican shot again and the Betis goalkeeper stopped. The scenario had changed completely, to the point that the green-and-white team was barely able to cause concern through, yes, a great opportunity in the boots of Carlos Reina.

That local arrival was a mere mirage because the Betic goalkeeper Guilherme continued to have too much work against a Sevilla that bit with more and more determination. However, in the 85th minute, when Arzu’s team was at its worst, drowning in doubts, Pablo García took a remote-directed corner and the Betic ‘9’ Marcos Fernández sent the ball into the back of the net with a header. 1-0. The party took over the green and white group and a crazy crowd. The Sevillistas couldn’t believe it. Heads down. They remain in relegation places and Betis, second in the provisional classification. The injury time left the classic final brawl that the referee resolved with a red card to local Sergio Arribas for slapping a rival in the face.