Photos: Sergio Betancort
UD Lanzarote managed to equalize against the leader, starring in the first goalless draw of the season. The locals had their best chances in the first half, although Nene had a clear chance to finish off the Galicians in the final stretch. Both contenders were orderly and focused in a tactical match that left little room for improvisation and spark.
Committed to control football, Lanzarote and Galician players offered a very disputed match in all lines. Two well-oiled blocks that were sometimes very stingy when it came to launching the attack. Thus, in the first half, only a distant shot by Gómez (min. 3) and an attempted shot in the area by Víctor Ramos (min. 18) were the only approaches of certain local danger. For its part, the Coruña subsidiary only showed order and poise, but was totally reluctant in the offensive incorporations; only Carril and Borja made an effort to get closer with verticality to the vicinity of Alberto's goal.
The restart gave way to a more open playing time, with more, although scarce, spaces. And in this period, the inside player Nene confirmed himself as the best man in the local squad; he and Gómez starred in a good chance in the 57th minute, with the "rojillo" scorer (Nene has scored 4 goals) finishing off a session from his teammate that was slightly deflected by little. Five minutes later, it would be the visitor Iván Carril who would force Alberto to intervene in the first dangerous chance for the Galicians in the match, a free kick that the local goalkeeper providencialmente takes from under the posts.
Galician chances
From the first quarter of an hour, the leader began to feel comfortable, and as a result of this good game came the clearest chances of the second half. In the 65th minute, Jairo again finishes off a cross from the right, but without aim. Equally clear was the chance for Sergio Benito (min. 73), who headed a measured cross from Carril from the wing slightly wide at the near post. And the height of bad aim from the Coruña players was placed by Aridane in the 82nd minute, incomprehensibly finishing high a loose ball that he caught in the small area.
While UD Lanzarote made an effort to kill the match on the counterattack in the second half, this period was more conducive to knowing the scope of the Galician subsidiary's game. A rival that could have left the Ciudad Deportiva empty-handed if Nene had not missed a clear counter-attack chance in added time. His shot went very high over Fabricio's goal.
In the end, this goalless draw and the draw of UD Fuerteventura against Fuenlabrada (1-1) leaves the first three places in Group I intact, while fourth continues in "Uni" after defeating Vecindario (1-0). In the next match, UD Lanzarote will face Real Madrid Castilla in Valdebebas. Regarding this rival, Paco Gutiérrez, the coach of UD Lanzarote, said in a press conference: "It is another subsidiary, perhaps with more quality than Deportivo B, but I think it has a less balanced block".
Technical sheet:
UD LANZAROTE: Alberto, Javi Jiménez, Koke, Juanma, Adrián, Pereira, Nene (Ángel Gil, 86´), Brenes, Víctor Ramos, Nacho Rodríguez (Toñito, 83´) and Gómez (Abando, 67´).
RC DEPORTIVO B: Fabricio, Laure, Juachi, Juanan, Sergio Benito, Alex, Borja, Pita, Rivera (Aridane 61´), Jairo (Herbert 67´) and Iván Carril.
Referee: Sánchez Ramos from La Palma cautioned the locals Kobe, Pereira, Nene and Nacho Rodríguez with a yellow card, and the visiting players Alex and Jairo.
Incidents: About 800 spectators attended the Ciudad Deportiva on a sunny morning where UD Lanzarote faced the leader of Group I in the 13th league match.
