Photos: Sergio Betancort
UD Lanzarote added a hard-fought victory against Unión Viera on Sunday morning, which allows them to get closer to the play-off zone of the Third Division. The Rojillos took the lead through Marcos Cabrera. Héctor "Choco" equalized at the start of the second half, and Javi Betancort scored the winning goal. UD Lanzarote suffered in the final minutes of the match, playing with one player less due to Krispy's expulsion.
The first minutes of the match were tentative, with two teams studying each other on the field. The first warning was given by Unión Viera in the 7th minute. Arana, inside the area, chipped the ball for Cristian Barrios' arrival, and his shot went over the crossbar of the goal defended by Alejandro.
UD Lanzarote's response came in the form of a goal in the 18th minute. Rosmen, from the left wing, passed to Marcos Cabrera at the edge of the area, and the midfielder's shot, after hitting the base of the post, went into the back of the net of the goal defended by Alejandro.
The goal gave UD Lanzarote quite a bit of tranquility in the game they were trying to develop on the field. The Rojillos' midfield had taken control of the game, not allowing Unión Viera to get close with danger.
In the 26th minute, Kennedy tried with an entry from the left, with goalkeeper Alejandro preventing the second goal for the locals. Quintero could not take advantage of the goalkeeper's rebound. The minutes passed without anything remarkable happening, and the score of 1-0 reached the conclusion of the first half of the match.
The second half started in the best possible way for Unión Viera's interests, achieving the equalizer in the 3rd minute of the restart. Héctor "Choco" starred in an excellent play down the right wing, getting past the three defenders who came out to meet him, and placed the ball next to the base of the post, making goalkeeper Alejandro's stretch useless.
Unión Viera was better in the first minutes of the second half, and even Ángel Luis Camacho's players could have achieved 1-2 in the 54th minute. The youth player Arana won Fran Gil's back, stood inside the area, and it was Alejandro who saved in the one-on-one.
UD Lanzarote would take the lead in the 56th minute. Borja Vera won the end line on the left side, taking a measured cross to the second post, and there was Javi Betancort to send the ball into the back of the net.
After the goal, the locals introduced some changes, removing Fran Gil and delaying Javi Betancort's position. Unión Viera was winning the back of UD Lanzarote's central defender, and the bench reacted in time to cut off one of the rival team's attacking routes.
Unión Viera could have tied the game from a set piece in the 72nd minute. Cristian Barrios executed a free kick from the edge of the area, Alejandro touched the ball with his fingertips, and the ball ended up hitting the crossbar of the goal. Later, UD Lanzarote had the sentence in the 76th minute, when Toñito tried a vaseline over the goalkeeper Alejandro and it was a defender who snatched the ball from him.
The Rojillos had to face the final minutes of the match with one player less on the field. Lateral Krispy was sent off for delaying the throw-in on two occasions. The lateral saw the two yellow cards in less than a minute, before the protests of the locals who did not understand the rigor of the referee. The referee added up to six minutes to the second half of the match, minutes of stress for UD Lanzarote to maintain the meager advantage they had on the scoreboard.
The victory allows UD Lanzarote to be four points behind the fourth-placed team, a position currently held by UD Ibarra and a team that was defeated this week by CD Vera. The Rojillos travel to Tenerife next week to face UD Las Zocas.
Technical Sheet
UD Lanzarote (2): Alejandro, Krispy, Javi Navarro, Javi Betancort, Fran Gil (Javi Melián 57), Mascos Cabrera, Ayoze (Toñito 73), Kennedy, Rosmen, Borja Vera and Quintero (Brad 82). Coach: Adolfo Pérez
Unión Viera (1): Alejandro, Miguel Ángel (Alex Expósito 85), Azael, Kevin Pérez, Ramón, Joel, Samuel (Xiraxi 76), Julio Báez (Soto 63), Arana, Barrios and Héctor. Coach: Ángel Luis Camacho
Goals
1-0: minute 18, Marcos Cabrera
1-1: minute 48, Hector
2-1: minute 56, Javi Betancort
Referees: Aníbal Jiménez Suárez, assisted on the wings by Cristo Atamán Jurado Montes and Rodrigo Suárez Martínez. Krispy was sent off with a double yellow card in the 81st minute and Goro Martín, goalkeeper coach, with a direct red card in the 90th minute, both for UD Lanzarote. He cautioned Quintero and Fran Gil for UD Lanzarote and Joel, Arana and Héctor for Unión Viera.
Incidents: Ciudad Deportiva Lanzarote, about 300 spectators. Match corresponding to the 33rd day of the Canarian group of the Third Division. A minute of silence was observed in memory of Carlos Cabrera, former director of CD Tahíche, Israel Feo, former player of CD Lomo, and Francisco González, former president of CL Arrecife, recently deceased.
