Santa Pola CF 0 – 1 UD Horadada

At a crucial juncture in their season, Santa Pola slumped to a disappointing defeat in their last home game of the campaign at the Manolo Mocha. Armenian striker Vardan did the damage mid-way through a second half the visitors dominated, the only real surprise was no-one else in a blue and white Horadada shirt was able to add to the tally.

Santa Pola started brightly as Horadada took time to find their feet, Hucha, Toni and Botella all caught the eye as the home side went close a couple of times early on. Centre-forward Toni stooped low attempting to connect with one right flank cross and an accidental boot in the face was his reward, thereafter, he was forced to play swathed in bandages. The Horadada defence, expertly marshalled by the classy Rojo and the mighty impressive Campillo, was easily able to cope though and slowly the away side worked themselves into the game.

Two late looking, and probably correct, flags for offside had one or two locals up in arms as a distinctly ordinary first half trundled along with neither side in the ascendency.

Horadada finished by far the stronger side on what was quickly becoming a sweltering Sunday morning. Ghanaian Ensa, enjoying a run in the side after injury problems curtailed his involvement, looked sharp and was at the centre of much of the best the visitors created. Strike partner Vardan was also making something of a nuisance of himself in the Santa Pola penalty area and forced Pepitiu into a couple of smart saves, the second of which was with his feet on the stroke of half time. Goal-less at the break.

A minute after the re-start, Santa Pola were forced into a change with the loss of Carlos to a cut head and mild concussion, Cristian took his place to give the home midfield some badly needed craft. Horadada it was though who continued where they left off with most of the play taking place in the Santa Pola half.  On the rare occasions the home side were able to get forward, poor communication and a sloppy final ball were their undoing as Horadada assumed complete control. The only goal of the game came with twenty minutes remaining and wasn’t completely unexpected. The willing Vardan chased down a long ball, nodded it past the onrushing Pepitiu and slotted into an unguarded net to secure all three points for The Reds.

The introduction of a third striker, May, finally saw Santa Pola came to life and not before time. Unfortunately for them, their efforts at chasing the game were beginning to look increasingly forlorn, way too many misplaced passes were quickly followed by frustrated hands in the air with players on completely the wrong wavelength time after time. The lively Ensa could and should have made things  comfortable for his side near the end, instead, he watched his close range shot come back off the Santa Pola bar.

Three games ago Santa Pola were a goal down to a plucky Campello side before scoring twice deep into time added on, today had that feel about it too, the only difference being Santa Pola’s woeful attempts on goal. Snatched shot followed snatched shot as an increasingly frantic home side fought for a point they barely deserved. In quick succession, Arrazola headed over, a May hooked shot flew inches wide and an Hucha header came back off the base of a post. Truth be told, Horadada were the better side and in Rojo, Campillo and Ensa had the best players on view. Goalkeeper Alex was equal to anything Santa Pola threw at him, whilst at the other end, Pepitiu kept Santa Pola in the game.

In the end a short handed Horadada, who could only field three substitutes, seemed to cope better with the soaring temperature and, one or two alarms late on aside, always looked in control. Full time 0-1

Kevin Rendall

Horadada 2    Villajoyosa CF 0
With Villajoyosa pushing hard to regain their Tercera status  this clash at the Ikomar was never going to be the usual end of season bore draw, particularly in view of the expectations that rivals Hercules would pick up maximum points at Contestano. For Horadada’s visitors, Sunday evening’s encounter really was a must Win game.

After a quick start by both teams it was the REds that settled best using oth Ensa and Mario to good effect down the flanks. Villajoyosa’s bst efforts were all ‘route one’ as Roberto and Chupe tried to outpace the Horadada defence.

But it was a poor knockback by Campillo that presented the best opportunity of the half. Roberto was quick to respond but slow to take is chance allowing the Horadada skipper time to make amends.

However the game sprang into life in the opening minutes of the 2^nd period. On 5 minutes Ferdinand played in Alberto. He fed the ball to Mario who looked to have lost his opportunity before curling an exquisite ball into the top corner for 1-0. Seconds later Ensa had doubled the Horadada lead after being put wide by Vardan. He beat his defender to dribble infield and hit a low and powerful shot past Tonet in the Villa goal.

Although the visitors created chances of their own the luck, and for a change, the referee, were both on the side of the Reds who easily saw the game through to the final whistle.

There was the odd scare or two against the semi professional outfit and on one occasion we all thought the deficit had been reduced, but once again it was a match official who came to the rescue with his rather over active flag.

This was a day when we saw rather more of the old Horadada team than of late, a win that the faithful who follow the Reds week after week, through good and bad, felt was long overdue.

ensa celebrates his goal

Albatera CF 2 Horadada 3

Having gone into the interval trailing by 0-2 not only did the Reds get out of jail but they also collected the £200 with three goals in the final 15 minutes of the game. A penalty from Paco brought them back within shouting distance in the 77^th minute. The offence also saw an Albatera dismissal. Spurred on by the man advantage the Reds then took control of the game and Vardan had them back on level terms in the 79^th minute. Getting his first run out in very nearly 3 months Ensa came off the bench to grab the winner in the final minute of the game when he met a corner with a fine header securing an unexpected three points for the visitors. This was a fine second half performance which, as they skilfully played the ball around, had them looking like the Horadada of old

Horadada 0 Pinoso 3

Pinoso playmaker Line scored twice, either side of a Campillo own goal, to help the visitors earn a 3-0 victory over Horadada at the Ikomar stadium.

 Neither of these teams had much on the game so we could have been excused for anticipating a fairly dour affair but in effect it was anything but.  Both Horadada and Pinoso played the ball around well and although the result was extremely disappointing for the Reds the few supporters that did make the effort saw a fairly even and reasonably entertaining game.

Both sides created opportunities to score and after Mario and Lewis combined well up front Paco Robles could have put the home side ahead as early as the 9^th minute. The same player spurned a 2^nd opportunity minutes later after he could only blast a long Alex clearance high and wide.

Pinoso were also pushing forward with Line and Jose David both looking lively at times. The latter was unfortunate with a speculative lob from half way as Alex in the Horadada goal just managed to get a hand and turn his effort wide.  At the half time interval neither side had been able to break the deadlock.

The second period was just as entertaining although the scoreline did little to cheer the small band of Horadada faithful.  Again the same three Horadada strikers created opportunities which on another day might well have provided a better return but following a free kick knocked wide on the edge of the Horadada box Ramon drilled in a low ball which line steered, more by luck than judgement, into the back of the Horadada net.

The Reds kept chasing but a mistake by the usually reliable Campillo midway through the half took the game beyond the home side and despite a multitude of substitutions by both side toward the end Line got his second late on to record a flattering scoreline for the visitors.

Hercules 2 -  Horadada 1

 Yet another game ruined for the spectators by poor officials

 The first half of this game passed with just one yellow card and we thought how well the refereeing had gone, wrong as the second period then saw too many cards with several yellow ones and two reds.

The game started briskly, in a very strong swirling wind, which Hercules chose to kick off with. The low sun was in the Horadada keepers eyes, but neither side took control being more or less on equal terms.

After a quarter of an hour Hercules had a throw in midway down the right in the Horadada half. This was crossed into midfield and a mix up in the Horadada goal resulted in Mathias netting, 1-0 to Hercules.

A couple of minutes later, Obama lost control of the ball in front of his own goal but Alex saved a weak shot from Poveda. Alex then mis-kicked a ball coming towards him in the high wind, which fortunately ran out for a throw in.

There followed a good move through the midfield ending up at the goal but Lewis couldn’t quite rise to it. Just before the half hour Antonio was in front of goal but only stroked the ball instead of kicking it! With ten minutes to go, Rojo needed treatment on the field for a groin injury and although he limped on till half time he was little more than a passenger. Just before the rest, a cross by Campillo resulted in a corner and this was tipped over the cross bar by Linares in the Hercules goal.

The second period started with Mario coming on to replace Rojo and the wind was blowing even harder. The Reds seemed to have more spirit and started to press a bit harder, although a good cross from Ferran saw Poveda shoot wide.

Ten minutes into the half a free kick was awarded to Horadada just inside Hercules half of the pitch and Javi took advantage of the high wind with a kick straight at goal, the ball went into the top right hand corner, 1-1. After a quarter of an hour Paco Robles was replaced by Vardan and then a through ball saw a clash between Lewis and Linares who was on the edge of his box. Shortly after this Ensa had to replace the struggling Lewis. A corner fell to Galvez but his shot was tipped over the bar. Then the pantomime started. Pinera was booked for a foul on Antonio and from the kick Mario was stopped outside of the box by Linares, the Hercules keeper was booked. When the ball was cleared to the Horadada half the linesman brought to the attention of the ref to a foul on Vardan by Mathias, apparently an elbow to the face, red card for Mathias. The ref then went to the Hercules bench and booked one of the subs, it had to be for remarks made.

Horadada, although pressing better in this half against 10 men, did allow them too much room at times and when near the Horadada goal the ball touched the hand of Javi, Penalty.

Pinera placed it right down the middle and put Hercules in front. The Physico of Horadada then complained about the free kick and he saw red as did the substitute keeper, Cristian. A corner to Horadada ten minutes before the end came to nothing but as the keeper was taking the goal kick, he was taking his time, second yellow card. The referee did nothing more until the game was about to restart when the Horadada players reminded him that Linares had already received one yellow, red card. They then started making substitutions, which used up time and just before the finish a kick upfield ended with Ensa having a shot, which was just clipped off the line. This could have been such a good afternoon had the ref not kept niggling, many times for nothing, as the two teams did try to play football in the difficult conditions.

Horadada 0 Alguena 2

This was more a game that was thrown away by Horadada rather than three points won by Alguena although on the basis of industry and effort the visitors certainly deserved the spoils.

A penalty on 9 minutes which saw Serrano send Cristian the wrong way was complemented by an 88^th minute free kick from Vargas, in between which time much of what  the Reds could muster was anxious and without control.

Alguena needed the points in their bid to avoid relegation and although mid-table Horadada had far less at stake, that was not reflected in the way the match unfolded.

The visitors made a mockery of their dismal away record – they had scored only once in their last four away games – while Horadada did not look like a team that was pushing for a play off place.

With Snr Moreldo Santos living up to the awful reputation of Spanish officials at this level of the game he seemed extremely happy to play his part in the proceedings. Cards were thrown around in abundance, he was rarely up with play and many of the more important decisions were given from much too far.

The first penalty was one such award. As the players got on with the game following what appeared to be a perfectly good challenge by Ortiz on Fernando, Moreldo inexplicably called the game to a halt, pointed to the spot and sought the name of the Reds defender. We were all taken slightly aback. But Serrana was having none of it as he dispatched the kick with ease.

A similar harsh award was made on the half hour, but this time it favoured the Reds. Lewis struck a free kick just outside the box. As happens all too often, the ball was struck with such ferocity that the defender had little time to respond and as the ball struck his arms, which were simply shielding his face, we saw the second penalty award of the day. The protestations at the award, however, saw the visitors reduced to ten men, following which Pelegrin made a mockery of his attempt as he tried to ‘dink’ the ball over keeper Ruben who turned the ball round his left hand post.

Ortiz, Jose Maria and Vardan were replaced after the interval by Losana, Paco Robles and Galvez and although we saw a little more endeavour from the Reds the outcome was very much the same.

The Reds had far more possession but they rarely troubled Ruben or his valiant defence. Lewis made a couple of half chances including one rasping shot but the visitors were equal to the home side’s efforts. The disappointing form of Pelegrin continued up front and he is clearly becoming increasingly frustrated with every game.

As the game entered the dying minutes Galvez was penalized just outside the box for a tackle on Victor Anton. The ball was hit into the wall and cleared. Enter once again the referee who awarded a second free kick to Alguena, this time a couple of yards closer to goal.  Cristain must take responsibility for failing to place a wall as Vargas simply stroked the ball to the side and firmly into the back of the Horadada net to make the scoreline 0-2. Seconds later Snr Moreldo Santos made his first decent decision of the day and brought the game to an end.

Any playoff hopes that the Reds may previously have harboured have now clearly been put to bed.  With six matches of the season remaining Alguena, however, have lifted themselves out of the bottom three for the first time since last October.

Kevin Rearden, The Leader

CD Alcoyano 2 Horadada 0

This Sunday lunchtime kick off at the Estadio Francisco Laports was completely overshadowed by what appeared to be a serious injury to Alcoy forward Poli in the 87^th minute of the game, following a collision with Horadada keeper Alex. Put through from midfield Poli chased the ball down but clashed with Alex as the keeper came out to clear the ball. Immediately the Alcoyano forward hit the ground Alex called out for urgent medical attention. Information that we were able to gather later suggested that the player was unconscious and had swallowed his tongue.

Reds defender Rojo immediately cleared the player’s airwaves as he was joined by Horadada fitness coach Paco Guillem. The pair continued to administer assistance; they were quickly joined by an Alcoy players mother, a local nurse, Maria Rosa Serra.  An Alcoyano club spokesman said that it was the prompt intervention and action of Rojo and Paco in calling for and fitting a Guedel tube that helped to save the player’s life.

Unfortunately there appeared to be a distinct lack of medical facilities available at the ground and although emergency services were called they took some time to reach the stadium until, eventually, two ambulances arrived. Whilst we are not able to ascertain the current condition of Poli, who had a neck brace fitted and was being administered with a drip, the player was rushed off to hospital by paramedics some 30 minutes after the incident, the prognosis at the time didn’t look particularly good although he was conscious.

The performance from Horadada could best be described as lethargic. The home side were the much sharper outfit and the Reds were rarely in the game.  Lewis was the pick of the Horadada side but even he could only muster a couple of half chances. At the time of the incident Alcoyano were leading 2-0 with goals through Lolo and Hector Serra.

Following the delay caused by the injury the referee failed to restart play so technically the game must go down as abandoned although with only 3 minutes, plus added time, to play it wouldn’t be too surprising if the Valencia Federation confirmed the scoreline as a result.

Kevin Rearden, The Leader

Rojo was first on the scene and immediately cleared the player's airwaves

 Horadada 2 Callosa 2

Callosa Deportivo, in the eyes of many Red’s fans leaving the ground, were probably the best team to visit the Ikomar this season.

A side that worked hard throughout the entire 90 minutes, chasing, harrying every ball, and playing a great deal of neat and crisp football. In fact they thoroughly deserved their point. But then so did Horadada in what, after a disappointing start, eventually turned into an absorbing draw.

In fact all the pre match hype, on a number of Preferente forums, suggested exactly the game we saw, a slow start from Horadada in which they needed to go a goal behind before they brought out their best. And with the passion showed by the visitors in the opening period making them favourites to win the majority of balls they deservedly went into the break a goal in front.

A cross out wide from Guille on the stroke of half time, which, in view of the close attention being paid, he had no right to make, was met at the far post by Angel who had easily lost his marker, Obama. The defenders reward was that he failed to reappear for the second period.

A much sharper Horadada saw them back on level terms within 60 seconds of the restart through the delightful head of Pelegrin but even before the celebrations had died down the visitors were back in front. An exquisite ball through the middle saw Guille control, turn and shoot in one dazzling move. There was little that Alex could do.

Both sides continued to play attractive football and there were chances created at either end but as the game entered it’s final quarter a Horadada free kick wide left was floated across the goal by Javi. Replacement keeper Manolo failed to take charge and to the Red’s delight the ball dropped into the back of the net at the far post.

The result was about right but with every other team in the promotion hunt gaining maximum points a draw did little to enhance either side’s play off ambitions.

Kevin Reardon, The Leader

Jove Espanol 0 Horadada 1 

To describe this Horadada victory as ‘smash & grab’ would be doing an injustice to Dick Turpin, indeed had I been better prepared I might well have distributed masks to the whole Horadada squad as they left the field following their hard earned success at Jove Espanol.

Galvez scored 12 minutes into the game with the Reds’ only shot of the first half, but it was enough to see them maintain their place on the edge of the play off places.

Against the run of play, Mario controlled a ball pushed wide by the Jove keeper. He turned it across goal into the path of Galvez who was well-placed to hammer home, from ten yards, his first league goal of the season from ten yards. Indeed, but for a mix up with registration cards, the goalscorer might not have even started the game.

Alex was a rock in defence for Horadada as he made a number of exceptional close-range saves from Rios and Chavez as well as maintaining the organization at the back.

But with the amount of possession enjoyed by the home side they really should have done much more, particularly during the second period when the Reds hardly got out of their half. It really was a ‘backs to the wall performance’ made even more difficult by the 75^th minute dismissal of Losana for what appeared to be nothing more than a good, strong challenge.

The closest they came was a free header for Hernandez following a corner, but he inexplicably directed it wide and Horadada held on for a huge win that could help secure them a play off place.

As for Jove, they suffered an unfathomable defeat that is a severe blow to their hopes of avoiding relegation for the second time in three years.

Horadada 4 Universidad 0

Perhaps the margin of Horadada’s victory could have been much greater but in a topsy turvy season where no single performance compares with the one before most supporters were please to leave the Ikomar knowing that the Red’s had gained another win. Anything more, a good display or a goal from Pelegrin for example, is simply a bonus. When all is said and done, two out of three is not a bad afternoon’s return.

Horadada opened the scoring midway through the first half when Pelegrin unselfishly squared the ball for Mario to tap in. This came seconds after the recent arrival had missed two opportunities in quick succession, one saved by Marcos and the other rebounding off a Uni post.

It took just 7 minutes more for the Reds to double their lead, a good individual effort from Javi who picked the ball up on the edge of the box before twisting and turning through a maze of Uni defenders before sliding the ball past the stranded keeper.

The second period followed much the same pattern as the first. This time the scorers were Lewis and Pelegrin, both with similar efforts.

On 53 minutes good work from Mario set up the young Brit and then with just 10 minutes of the game remaining a decisive run down the left from Rojo, followed by an accurate cross to Pelegrin, saw the new striker break his duck. The relief of gettin off the mark was clearly evident in his celebrations.

The one sour note for Horadada was the dismissal of substitute Jose Maria just 8 minutes after joining the fray for a straight red card. His two footed lunge on Alex Kerl could not be excused.

Kevin Rearden, The Leader

Javi Closing in on GoalPelegrin on the score sheet again

Pelegrin scores is first goal for the Reds