Villarreal B couldn’t break the deadlock against Linense in a match marked by controversy due to a penalty not given to Arana
Villarreal B hosted Real Balompédica Linense at the Mini Estadi today, who needed a win to secure their place in the league, although a draw was also a huge step forward for them. For their part, The ‘Groguets’ wanted to stay in contention for direct promotion. The game was very evenly matched from the first to the last minute, but the best chances fell to the home side.
Dela’s tried an effort from distance when he saw Varo, the opposing goalkeeper off his line, but he was able to save the ball safely. Arana had the next big chance after a great combination play from the Groguet side. However, the Canary Islands striker failed to get on the end of Nikita’s low cross from the left.
For his part, Migue Leal was overflowing on the right flank with crosses into the box and crosses that were proving difficult for the Campo de Gibraltar defence to deal with. The full-back from Vila-real also attempted a powerful shot from the edge of the box. Despite the constant attacks from Miguel Álvarez’s side, the half-time whistle was blown whilst it was all square.
As soon as the second half got underway, Iker Álvarez put in an excellent save to keep out Koroma’s shot, which caught the B team off guard just seconds after the ball had been put into play. Fortunately, the Andorran goalkeeper was impeccable. Shortly afterwards, Nikita had the two clearest chances of the game so far. In the first, his shot from the six-yard box hit the post and, in the second, his shot went just wide of the Linense goal.
Midway through the second half, came the most controversial action of the game. Arana was caught and brought down inside the area, but the referee, who was following the action closely, did not signal for a penalty. The Canary Islands striker himself had a header in the last minutes of the game that could have won the game, but, in the end, the scoreboard remained unchanged in this intense clash.
Lineups:
Villarreal B: Iker Á; M.A. Leal, Dela, P. Iñiguez, Tasende; Ahn (m. 80, J. Arriba), A. Del Moral, Carlo, Nikita (m. 70, D. Collado); Á. Forés (m. 56, Pacheco) and Arana.
RB Linense: Varo; Connor, Morante, Loren, Jesús Muñoz; Chiro (m. 87, Delmonte), Masllorens, A. Koroma (m. 77, Leuko); Coulibaly (m. 70, Monteverde), Leandro (m. 87, Toledano); and Gerard Oliva (m. 87, Víctor Mena).
Referee: Álvaro López Parra. Booked: Tasende, Arana, Dela (Villarreal B).
Stadium: Mini Estadi.
