A thrilling draw (2-2)

Miguel Álvarez’s men earned a point against SD Ponferradina in a back-and-forth encounter El Villarreal B sumó un punto ante la SD Ponferradina en el duelo intersemanal disputado durante la tarde del miércoles en el Mini Estadi de la Ciudad Deportiva (2-2). El equipo de Miguel Álvarez, gracias a los goles de Carlo Adriano y Mbacke en un encuentro de ida y vuelta, se mantiene invicto como local en LaLiga SmartBank. Villarreal B earned a point against SD Ponferradina in a 2-2 draw in Wednesday afternoon’s midweek clash at the Mini Estadi at the Training Ground. Miguel Álvarez’s side, thanks to goals from Carlo Adriano and Mbacke in a back-and-forth encounter, remain unbeaten at home in LaLiga SmartBank. The Mini Submarine were the ones who carried the weight of the game during the early stages of the match. Miguel Álvarez’s side had the first real danger in the third minute, when Fer Niño got on the end of a ball from Dani Tasende into the heart of the box. The forward’s header, however, was turned behind for a corner by the visitors’ goalkeeper. Miguel Álvarez’s side tried to hurt the Ponferradina defence through long possession and the boldness of Haissem on the right flank, but on a counter-attack it was the away side who took the lead with a volley from outside the area by Edu Espiau. However, despite their persistence after the visitors’ goal, the Mini Submarine went into the break one down on the scoreboard. They started the second half in style though! Only two minutes after half-time saw Fer Niño headed across a cross from the left flank and Carlo Adriano headed the ball into the back of the net to level the scores. The goal saw growth from Villarreal B, who continued to attack the goal defended by Amir. The Yellows were to find the net again thanks to Mbacke’s header after a great cross from Dani Tasende. In the final stretch of the game, and despite the superiority of the Yellows on the pitch, SD Ponferradina would tie the game through Pascanu after a mix-up inside the box, which was enough to see the game end 2-2. Miguel Álvarez’s team return to action on Saturday at 4:15pm CEST against Real Zaragoza at La Romareda. Lineups: Villarreal B: Jorgensen; Tasende, Dela, Mbacke, S. Carreira (min. 89, M. A. Leal); Haissem (min. 69, Iosifov), Del Moral, Carlo, Pacheco (min. 69, Ojeda) ; D. Collado (min. 89, Forés), F. Niño (min. 81, Tiago). SD Ponferradina: Amir; Moi Delgado, Amo (min. 78, Yuri), Diéguez, Pascanu, Aldair (min. 78, Erik Morán); Sabit (min. 78, Adot), N. Kelechi, Heri (min. 65, Dani Ojeda); Hugo Vallejo (min. 65, J. Naranjo), Edu Espiau. Goals: 0-1. Min. 24: Edu Espiau. 1-1. Min. 47: Carlo. 2-1. Min. 70: Mbacke. 2-2. Min. 80: Pascanu. Referee: González Francés. Booked: Dela, Mbacke, Ojeda (Villarreal B); Amo, Dani Ojeda, Dieguez, Pascanu (SD Ponferradina). Matchday information: Match between Villarreal B and SD Ponferradina corresponding to Matchday 10 of the 2022/23 LaLiga SmartBank season at the Mini Estadi at the Villarreal CF Training Ground. Attendance: 1,250.