A GAME OF TWO HALVES!

Sport » Soccer » Elche CF

John McGregor / 2010-02-07 10:31:18

Molina can't believe how he missed an empty net

Elche 0 Numancia 1
Every season most diehard fans are forced to accept at some period that this is not the one they will win promotion – sometimes early, sometimes late, but it has to be faced.

Well, I got that feeling on Saturday at the Martinez Valero watching Elche. Prior to the match we were thinking if we won this six-pointer against Numancia (and everyone else lost, of course!) we would go fourth. Well, we didn’t! Elche lost abjectly in the end, and the truth is we are just not good enough to go up playing like this.

With Juli returning after his one-match ban, the rest of the team was the same as drew away last week at Huesca, although the Illicitanos have signed two new players this week. 5,858 watched Numancia squander a gilt-edged opportunity after only two minutes as Lago Junior somehow shot past the post when the Elche defence was caught napping.

Elche began to settle and on 14 minutes Trejo went clear only to have his shot smothered by goalkeeper Eduardo. Shortly after a good Juli-Wakaso-Saul-Molina move again ended in Elche’s leading scorer’s shot pushed away. From Saul’s resulting corner Samuel headed back across the goal for Molina to miss a sitter from close in.

On the half hour Wakaso crashed in a great shot, Eduardo parried it, the ball spun to the line where it was half-heartedly cleared only for Molina to flick it onto the bar. Trejo put the rebound wide, and it seemed only a matter of time before Elche scored.. Half time arrived with no goals but how Elche had not scored was a mystery: surely they could in the second half?

You would not have believed that the same players took the field for the second half. I have no idea what coach Jose Bordelas said, or didn’t say to the Illicitanos during the interval, but Elche were simply awful in the second half. Only four minutes had gone when a speculative drive by Numancia’s Barkero from outside the area spun sharply up and caught the normally safe Caballero in Elche’s goal napping. The ball spun up and went into the net via Willy’s shoulder.

Oh dear, now would this spur Elche on and continue where they left off in the first half? Well, no actually, they got worse, and began to make Numancia look good –which they weren’t! Panic set in at the back and it would have been no surprise as the game wore on if the visitors had gone further ahead. On a one-to-one Lago Junior went round Caballero, but put his shot into the side netting.

Juli and Generelo were replaced by Acciairi and new boy Patri with twenty minutes to go, but nothing changed. The disappointed crowd started going home prior to the end as Elche looked beaten and ragged. The game was never dirty although Numancia had five booked, but Elche’s four included the wayward Wakaso, whose five yellow cards now mean he misses the next match.

Elche have not scored and conceded one in the last two games, earning one point. The goals have suddenly dried up, and in the second half the performance was poor. Bordelas needs to sort out why: had they scored in the first half I’m sure it would have spurred them on to a win, not conceding and then meekly throwing the towel in as they did.

Next Sunday the Illicitanos are away to Salamanca, this could be the last chance to show they mean business this season: otherwise it will be looking over our shoulders again – and we don’t want that!

Mucho Elche!

Photos by Mark Welton www.foto23.info