Forés closed the gap after Braithwaite’s brace, but it was not enough
Villarreal B were beaten 2-1 at the Stage Front Stadium by Espanyol. The home side took an early lead with a Braithwaite brace, the second of the goals coming from the penalty spot, before Forés pulled one back.
The game quickly became complicated when Braithwaite scored from Espanyol’s first shot on target after the quarter-hour mark. The striker beat Miguel Morro, who got a touch on the shot, but could not keep it out. On the half-hour mark, the referee ruled that there had been a foul in the box when Espigares stole the ball and Braithwaite made no mistake to extend the lead for the Catalan side.
However, Álex Forés took advantage of a good assist from Ontiveros to beat Pacheco one-on-one and score his tenth goal in LALIGA Hypermotion this season. With this result, the Mini Submarine reached half-time and kept their chances of scoring at the Stage Front Stadium going into the second half.
Villarreal B tried and tried hard after the restart, putting Espanyol on the ropes at times. Alberto del Moral had a good chance that was blocked by Pacheco and Ontiveros was electric down the left flank. Despite constant efforts, the desire to find an equaliser was not enough.
The reserve team’s next match will be on Sunday 28 January at 4:15pm CET at the Estadio de la Cerámica against Huesca.
Line-ups:
RCD Espanyol: Pacheco; El Hilali (min. 64, Óscar Gil), S. Gómez, F. Calero, B. Oliván; Puado, Aguado (min. 73, Keidi Bare), Pol Lozano (min. 86, Gragera), Edu Expósito (min. 64, Sánchez); Braithwaite, Pere Milla (min. 73, Keita Balde).
Villarreal B: M. Morro; Lanchi (min. 90, Marcos S.), Espigares, P. Iñiguez, Tasende; Rodrigo (min. 82, Requena), A. del Moral (min. 90, A. Gelardo), Carlo (min. 82, A. Ferrari), Ontiveros; A. Forés, J. Pascual (min. 55, D. Collado).
Goals: 1-0. Min. 17: Braithwaite. 2-0. Min. 32: Braithwaite (p.). 2-1. Min. 38: A. Forés.
Referee: Sánchez López. Booked: El Hilali (RCD Espanyol); J. Pascual, Lanchi (Villarreal B).
Matchday information: Match between RCD Espanyol and Villarreal B, corresponding to Matchday 23 of the 2023/24 LALIGA Hypermotion season, at the Stage Front Stadium.
