The Penalty Box Dancer
Player Valuation: £35m
Albacete vs Real Zaragoza
20th October 2035
A win for Zaragoza over struggling Albacete will see them keep the pressure on league leaders Eibar. Juan was still recovering from injury and Ferguson confirmed he would be available for next weeks match against Oviedo. Ferguson made five changes for the trip to Albacete. Ioseba Flano was given a start in midfield alongside Israel Silva. Francesc Alonso got his first leage start of the season with Richard Alonso being rested. Chus Abadias was also given a start on the left wing. It was on 10 minutes when Abadias sent the free-kick to the far post, Alonso headed across goal and Zubuillaga headed into the open net to make it 1-0! Flano needed treatment on the sidelines after 37 minutes and could not continue, he was replaced by Carlos Romero. Albacete got the ball forward towards Oscar Torres and Juan looked to have pulled him down, the referee awarded Albacete the penalty! Gonzalo placed the ball down, he went down the middle and Martinez got a hand to it but could not stop it crossing the line! 1-1. Andrew Ledson came on for Francesc Alonso in time for the kick-off. Albacete were doing a good job keeping Zubillaga out of the game, every time the ball came forward for him he had three defenders around him. Ferguson took the last throw of the dice bringing on Alvarado for Donkor but it got worse for Zaragoza when Abadias came in late on Medina and received a straight red card. It looked a harsh decision and Duncan Ferguson was livid. Zaragoza got a free-kick in the 94th minute and Alvarado surely must go for goal. He aimed towards the top right corner and it was looking goal bound but Ignacio got across and tipped it away. That was the final chance of the match and it's a disappointing draw for Zaragoza.
PLAYER RATINGS
Real Zaragoza vs Oviedo
28th October 2035
Sunday night football came to La Romareda with Oviedo in town to play Zaragoza. Los Blanquillos had slipped to 7 points behind league leaders Eibar and would relish a win to try to close the gap. Injuries ran through the Zaragoza squad as Carlos Romero and Israel Silva were out for up to 3 weeks, Right Back Damiano Manzella was still four months away for a return and Chus Abadias was suspended for his sending off against Albacete. Igor Martinez was ruled out before kick-off and 18 year old Chus was handed his 5th start for Zaragoza. Juan took the ball short from Chus and played it forward to Donkor, he played it left to Cobos and Cobos passed inside nicely to Flano who approached the opposition box, a ball to the right for Richard Alonso to take a first time shot but he sliced it wide. It wasn't going to plan for Zaragoza, Zubillaga was isolated and had no impact on the game in the first half. Alonso got on the ball at his first opportunity in the second half and took it down the right, he tried an early cross towards Zubillaga but he was crowded out, Flano picked the ball up 30 yards out and played it left to Cobos to take the shot which the keeper done well to parry away, Alonso was on hand to get to it and he slotted to give his side the first goal of the match! Javi and Perez were solid at thr back and it allowed the team to get forward. Flano won the ball with a great tackle and passed left to Cobos, he looked up and played it into the feet of Donkor and the 21 year old rifled it home from 25 yards! Cristo Fernandez was allowed too much space on 64 minutes and he got the cross in for Bernad to head past Chus to make it 2-1. 24 minutes remained, Emilio Alvarez won the header and passed it forward to Zubillaga, he showed some magic beating two defenders and restored the two goal cushion with a cool finish! His 10th goal of the campaign and his 50th for Zaragoza! Richard Donkor had to be replaced, he was the victim of a nasty challenge and Hector Ormad was brought on to do a job as a Defensive midfielder. The job was complete and Zaragoza recorded their 6th win of the season!
DF: First half today we couldn't break them down, I had a chat with Donkor and Cobos and asked them to try something a bit different and with Flano getting in to support we managed to push them back and secured the win. Donkor is ok, he took a bit of a bang to the shin but taking him off was precautionary. We are looking forward to our first leg tie against Alaves in the cup in a few days time, they're a side with quality and can hurt us but they are coming here first and will be walking intoa bear pit in front of 40 thousand supporters who I know will do their part.
PLAYER RATINGS
20th October 2035
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A win for Zaragoza over struggling Albacete will see them keep the pressure on league leaders Eibar. Juan was still recovering from injury and Ferguson confirmed he would be available for next weeks match against Oviedo. Ferguson made five changes for the trip to Albacete. Ioseba Flano was given a start in midfield alongside Israel Silva. Francesc Alonso got his first leage start of the season with Richard Alonso being rested. Chus Abadias was also given a start on the left wing. It was on 10 minutes when Abadias sent the free-kick to the far post, Alonso headed across goal and Zubuillaga headed into the open net to make it 1-0! Flano needed treatment on the sidelines after 37 minutes and could not continue, he was replaced by Carlos Romero. Albacete got the ball forward towards Oscar Torres and Juan looked to have pulled him down, the referee awarded Albacete the penalty! Gonzalo placed the ball down, he went down the middle and Martinez got a hand to it but could not stop it crossing the line! 1-1. Andrew Ledson came on for Francesc Alonso in time for the kick-off. Albacete were doing a good job keeping Zubillaga out of the game, every time the ball came forward for him he had three defenders around him. Ferguson took the last throw of the dice bringing on Alvarado for Donkor but it got worse for Zaragoza when Abadias came in late on Medina and received a straight red card. It looked a harsh decision and Duncan Ferguson was livid. Zaragoza got a free-kick in the 94th minute and Alvarado surely must go for goal. He aimed towards the top right corner and it was looking goal bound but Ignacio got across and tipped it away. That was the final chance of the match and it's a disappointing draw for Zaragoza.
PLAYER RATINGS
Real Zaragoza vs Oviedo
28th October 2035
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Sunday night football came to La Romareda with Oviedo in town to play Zaragoza. Los Blanquillos had slipped to 7 points behind league leaders Eibar and would relish a win to try to close the gap. Injuries ran through the Zaragoza squad as Carlos Romero and Israel Silva were out for up to 3 weeks, Right Back Damiano Manzella was still four months away for a return and Chus Abadias was suspended for his sending off against Albacete. Igor Martinez was ruled out before kick-off and 18 year old Chus was handed his 5th start for Zaragoza. Juan took the ball short from Chus and played it forward to Donkor, he played it left to Cobos and Cobos passed inside nicely to Flano who approached the opposition box, a ball to the right for Richard Alonso to take a first time shot but he sliced it wide. It wasn't going to plan for Zaragoza, Zubillaga was isolated and had no impact on the game in the first half. Alonso got on the ball at his first opportunity in the second half and took it down the right, he tried an early cross towards Zubillaga but he was crowded out, Flano picked the ball up 30 yards out and played it left to Cobos to take the shot which the keeper done well to parry away, Alonso was on hand to get to it and he slotted to give his side the first goal of the match! Javi and Perez were solid at thr back and it allowed the team to get forward. Flano won the ball with a great tackle and passed left to Cobos, he looked up and played it into the feet of Donkor and the 21 year old rifled it home from 25 yards! Cristo Fernandez was allowed too much space on 64 minutes and he got the cross in for Bernad to head past Chus to make it 2-1. 24 minutes remained, Emilio Alvarez won the header and passed it forward to Zubillaga, he showed some magic beating two defenders and restored the two goal cushion with a cool finish! His 10th goal of the campaign and his 50th for Zaragoza! Richard Donkor had to be replaced, he was the victim of a nasty challenge and Hector Ormad was brought on to do a job as a Defensive midfielder. The job was complete and Zaragoza recorded their 6th win of the season!
DF: First half today we couldn't break them down, I had a chat with Donkor and Cobos and asked them to try something a bit different and with Flano getting in to support we managed to push them back and secured the win. Donkor is ok, he took a bit of a bang to the shin but taking him off was precautionary. We are looking forward to our first leg tie against Alaves in the cup in a few days time, they're a side with quality and can hurt us but they are coming here first and will be walking intoa bear pit in front of 40 thousand supporters who I know will do their part.
PLAYER RATINGS
Real Zaragoza vs Alavez
Copa Del Ray Fourth Round First Leg
31st October 2035
Richard Donkor missed training in the build-up but passed a fitness test to start the match. Igor Martinez was brought back into the fold for an integral cup tie. Ferguson boosted his sides chances in the pre-match press conference after Alaves were beaten at the weekend by Las Palmas saying "We can pile on the hurt in this fixture." The home side almost took the lead on 16 minutes when Flano pumped the free-kick into the box and Perez's strong header just went wide of the far post. Donkor's fitness was a concern and a half-hearted challenge saw Diallo counter attack before Galindo got over and put in a great tackle conceding the corner. Richard Alonso was involved in a robust challenge which saw him come off worse and was substituted on 43 minutes for Francesc Alonso. Richard Donkor was replaced at half-time for Andrew Ledson and it was obvious he was not in great condition in the first half. Zubillaga wasn't at his best and was struggling against a decent defence. Ferguson and David Garcia were discussing whether to change the striker with Alvarado keen to get on the pitch. He came on with three minutes to play to try and grab the one goal they need in this tie. Alvarado held off the defender and played it for Ledson to run on to, he played it wide to Cobos and his cross was deflected behind for a late corner. The corner came to nothing but Ferguson urged his team to try to keep hold of the ball. The home side played well enough and were a match for Alaves, a massive improvement in the teams performance against higher opposition.
DF: 0-0 is not a bad result, we can go to Alaves with the hope of stealing it there. Injuries are a not a concern for me at the moment, Alonso may miss the match against Eibar this weekend but we will have Silva and Romero back in about a week.
PLAYER RATINGS
Copa Del Ray Fourth Round First Leg
31st October 2035
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Richard Donkor missed training in the build-up but passed a fitness test to start the match. Igor Martinez was brought back into the fold for an integral cup tie. Ferguson boosted his sides chances in the pre-match press conference after Alaves were beaten at the weekend by Las Palmas saying "We can pile on the hurt in this fixture." The home side almost took the lead on 16 minutes when Flano pumped the free-kick into the box and Perez's strong header just went wide of the far post. Donkor's fitness was a concern and a half-hearted challenge saw Diallo counter attack before Galindo got over and put in a great tackle conceding the corner. Richard Alonso was involved in a robust challenge which saw him come off worse and was substituted on 43 minutes for Francesc Alonso. Richard Donkor was replaced at half-time for Andrew Ledson and it was obvious he was not in great condition in the first half. Zubillaga wasn't at his best and was struggling against a decent defence. Ferguson and David Garcia were discussing whether to change the striker with Alvarado keen to get on the pitch. He came on with three minutes to play to try and grab the one goal they need in this tie. Alvarado held off the defender and played it for Ledson to run on to, he played it wide to Cobos and his cross was deflected behind for a late corner. The corner came to nothing but Ferguson urged his team to try to keep hold of the ball. The home side played well enough and were a match for Alaves, a massive improvement in the teams performance against higher opposition.
DF: 0-0 is not a bad result, we can go to Alaves with the hope of stealing it there. Injuries are a not a concern for me at the moment, Alonso may miss the match against Eibar this weekend but we will have Silva and Romero back in about a week.
PLAYER RATINGS
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