Villarreal B come from behind against UD Logroñés and will play the play-off final against Gimnàstic de Tarragona
Villarreal B came from behind against UD Logroñés (3-1) and will play the final of the promotion play-off to the Second Division. The Yellows, who beat the Riojan side with goals from Del Moral, Dela and Iosifov, will face Gimnàstic de Tarragona next Saturday to fight for a place in the silver league of Spanish football.
The ‘groguet’ B team were looking forward to the play-offs. The Yellows returned to play a promotion match to the Second Division three years later. With this in mind, they travelled to Galicia to face UD Logroñés in Ferrol.
The match started with a lot of respect and equality between the two sides. Despite this, the Mini Submarine enjoyed the first chance of the match. In the 7th minute of the game, Nico Jackson filtered an excellent ball for Juan Carlos Arana, with an oriented control, to step into the opponent’s area and find a powerful shot that was met by Serantes’ save.
As the game went on, Villarreal B were unable to find fluidity and precision between the lines. The ‘groguets’ tried a couple of times before the half hour mark. A run by Nico Jackson that ended in a corner and a mistake in control by Serantes were the most notable approaches from Miguel Álvarez’s side in the first half.
With hardly any dangerous chances until the 40th minute, UD Logroñés went ahead against all odds. The Riojans surprised the Mini Submarine with a Pinillos move down the left flank. After beating his opponent, the Logroñés player passed the ball into the box where Dubasin was waiting to put the score at 0-1. It was a bitter blow for Villarreal B, who went in at half-time trailing at A Malata.
At the start of the second half, Villarreal B took a clear step forward in the game. The Yellows enjoyed several chances on their way back from the changing rooms. Ahn and Arana both had two shots inside the area that narrowly missed the target.
In the midst of so many chances, the Mini Submarine got their reward for their persistence in the form of a goal. In the 61st minute, Alberto del Moral headed home a corner kick expertly taken by Dani Tasende.
Villarreal B were not satisfied with the equaliser and continued to look for a comeback. In the 74th minute, Dela put the score at 2-1 with a truly spectacular goal. From a direct free kick, Lozano stepped lightly for the yellow captain to fire home a powerful shot from the edge of the area.
In stoppage time, Miguel Álvarez’s side made it 3-1 on the counter-attack through Nikita Iosifov. Finally, Villarreal B will play the final of the promotion to the Second Division against Gimnàstic de Tarragona next Saturday.
Lineups:
Villarreal B: Iker Á., M.A. Leal, Dela, P. Iñiguez, Tasende; A. Del Moral, Carlo (Martín, m. 90), Ahn (Iosifov, m. 79), S. Lozano; Arana (Pacheco, m. 79) and N. Jackson.
UD Logroñés: Serantes; Fran Rodríguez (Iñaki, m. 81), Simic, Aitor Arregi, Pinillos (O. Siddiki, m. 90); Jesús Alfaro (Diamanka, m. 90), Javi Castellano (Fer Cano, m. 90), David Ramos (Rodri, m. 81), Dubasin; Aridane and Iker Guarrotxena.
Goals: 0-1. Min. 43: Dubasin. 1-1. Min. 61: A. Del Moral. 2-1. Min. 74: Dela. 3-1. Min. 93: Iosifov.
Referee: José Luis Guzmán Mansilla. Booked: home; Arana and Lozano, away; Aridane and Iñaki.
Match information: Match between Villarreal B and UD Logroñés, corresponding to the semi-final match of the Second Division promotion phase, held at A Malata (Ferrol).
