Pellicer was right, his Malaga CF He will fight to the end. Or at least that’s the impression he gave at the Gran Canaria Stadium. Only the most optimistic could think of getting something positive out of the field of the hitherto leader, but the blue and white team did trust and got a draw. The youthful Álex Calvo, who had just made his debut with the first team, scored a great goal that served to rescue a point that will boost morale before two consecutive games at La Rosaleda (2-2 | Statistics and match report). Twice he was behind the Martiricos team, and twice he decided to rebel against adversity to win a prize that he deserved.
With almost no time to warm up, Málaga was already behind on the scoreboard. In another unfortunate move, which in other times would never have been sanctioned, González Esteban awarded a penalty, after seeing it on the screen, for a completely involuntary handball by Esteban Burgos after a struggle against a rival. Jonathan Viera did not fail. Minute 5 and the game was already uphill.
The blue and white reaction came in the same way, from 11 meters. In a lateral free-kick center to the area, Juande nodded in anticipation of Valles, who hit him in the face with his fist and the referee, after giving him several seconds of suspense, ended up signaling the maximum penalty after seeing that the malaguista defender was left in pain on the ground. Fran Sol He took responsibility and tricked Valles to make it 1-1.
Málaga improved after drawing the match. The Canarian team was imprecise, Pellicer’s approach was managing to drown out his game between the lines and the blue and whites were capable of stealing again and again with ease in the middle to go on the counter. So, Fran Villalba was about to make it 1-2, but his shot crashed into a defender.
Málaga continued to put those from Garcia Pepper, and the local fans began to get impatient. I don’t even want to imagine what the Estadio de Gran Canaria would be like if his team were in the situation of the blue and whites.
The image that Málaga was giving on the pitch was more than worthy. I was competing head to head in the field of the category leader, but with the tie it was not enough. Pellicer’s men felt that they could get something positive out of their visit to the islands, and it would have been easier if Fran Sol had hit a resounding occasion on the brink of rest. The man from Madrid finished off a perfect pass from Fran Villalba at the first touch and his attempt went off just past the crossbar.
The canaries changed the plan at halftime. mfulu, the only one cautioned in the first half, left his place to Fabio. The first minutes of the second act were entirely for the local team, which took possession of the ball. Pellicer also had to move the bench, although in this case out of obligation. Jozabed replaced Ramón, with physical problems.
All the danger of Málaga was around the area of Fran Sol. Cristian and Delmás were having depth and managed to put good crosses, to which the blue and white attacker did not reach. Now Las Palmas was frightening, always with Viera as the mastermind of the operations.
Carousel of changes in both teams to refresh for the final minutes. Everything was yet to be defined, and Pejiño wanted, 15 minutes from the end, that the victory had to stay on the islands. He cut inside and released a kick from 30 meters to which Rubén Yáñez could do nothing. What no one expected is the stellar appearance of Alex Calvo to redeem a point for Málaga. Pellicer bet on him and four minutes after entering he already showed all his impudence. He controlled, went between two rivals inside the area and slipped it under Valles’ legs to tie the game again.
Málaga had the point in their hand, and even so, Yáñez had to appear on the last play of the game to save the tie in another clear local occasion. The Blue and WhitesThey take their reward from Gran Canaria. Minor prize, but important to try to believe.