Quique got the equaliser with 2 minutes left on the clock
Quique got the equaliser with 2 minutes left on the clock

CF Benidorm – 2   CD Thader Rojales – 2

By Steve Hibberd

This behind closed doors Saturday evening friendly at Benidorm, saw a battling never say die performance by Thader Rojales.  CF Benidorm are a new side, comprising of an amalgamation of last season’s Calvari and Ciudad, who will be playing this season in Preferente group 5.

Thader officially announced 2 new signings during the week.  Oscar Martinez, is a local lad from nearby Formentera del Segura, who should bring extra quality and has a really good work rate.  Quique Munzon, has won his place in the squad after grafting hard in pre-season.  He’s a young pacey, skilful front runner, who’s already notched a few goals for his new team.

Following an uneventful first half, the floodgates opened up towards the closing stages of the match.  Benidorm opened the scoring on 77 mins, when full back Juanfran applied the finishing touch to a floated free kick at the far post.  It was soon 2-0, following a quick break, which Cesar made the most of by lobbing the ball over Thader’s keeper.

On 80 mins, Thader pulled a goal back, courtesy of Dani Lucas who converted a penalty given for hand ball.  With only 2 mins left on the clock, Cabrera was brought down in the box, and although he missed his spot kick, Quique was on hand to hammer home the rebound.

Dolores is the venue for Thader’s next friendly (Thurs 8 Oct, ko 8.15), but once again, it will almost certainly be played behind closed doors.  These friendly matches have been invaluable for Thader, who start their Preferente group 6 season, away at Orihuela ‘B’ the weekend of 17/18 Oct.

As the Moi Gomez stadium pitch will be reseeded this week, there will be no more home friendlies, and at least the first 2 home league matches will either be played at a different venue, or switched to an away match.