Villarreal B beat Nàstic with a brace from Nico Jackson to secure historic promotion to the silver league
Villarreal B are in the Second Division. The yellow B team defeated Nàstic de Tarragona with authority (2-0) and achieved a historic promotion to the silver league of Spanish football. Nico Jackson’s brace made the seemingly impossible possible: the Mini Submarine are back in the second division!
For the final of the Second Division promotion play-off, Miguel Álvarez opted to repeat the same eleven with which Villarreal B beat UD Logroñés (3-1) in the semi-final.
The Mini Submarine were on the attack from the very first minute of the game. The ‘groguet’ side came into the game with a lot of character and were fully aware of the great opportunity that was at stake on the pitch of the Balaídos Stadium.
Miguel Álvarez’s side took possession of the ball in the early stages of the game, while their opponents, the ‘Grana’ side, were pulling their lines together and looking to create danger through quick transitions. As the minutes passed, the game became more evenly matched in terms of dominance.
The best chances in the first half went in favour of Nàstic, who made good use of the space and had a couple of dangerous chances before the half hour mark. Iker Álvarez thwarted the Catalan side’s hopes with some sober saves. In the minutes before the break, Villarreal B upped the intensity again and enjoyed several approaches into the opponent’s box, but were unable to convert them into goalscoring opportunities.
Six minutes after the restart, Villarreal B scored the first goal of the game. Juan Carlos Arana slipped a superb pass into space for Nico Jackson, who outpaced his markers and slotted past Manu Garcia. The Senegalese striker’s fantastic finish at the far post made it 1-0.
After the goal, the Mini Submarine enjoyed their best minutes of the match, taking advantage of Nàstic’s confusion. Subsequently, the Catalans moved forward many metres in search of the equaliser. The best chance came from Dani Romera’s powerful header from a corner. A fantastic save from Iker Álvarez saved the Yellows.
Immediately afterwards, Villarreal B came close to a second goal when Arana’s low shot hit the post. As in any final, the Mini Submarine had to defend and suffer a lot in the last minutes of the game in the face of Nàstic’s desperate attempts to find an equaliser.
In the last minute, Nico Jackson sealed the final by scoring the second goal – Villarreal B are in the Second Division!
Lineups:
Villarreal B: Iker Á.; M. A. Leal, P. Iñiguez, Dela, Tasende (Martín, m. 82); A. Del Moral, Carlo, Ahn (Pacheco, m. 74), Lozano; Arana (Iosifov, m. 82) and N. Jackson.
Gimnàstic de Tarragona: Manu García; Pol Domingo (Albarrán, m. 78), A. Quintanilla, Aythami, Joan Oriol, Ribelles, Del Campo (Bonilla, m. 78), Robert (Buyla, m. 54), N. Jiménez (Fran Carbia, m. 54); Dani Romera and Pablo.
Goals: 1-0. Min. 51: N. Jackson. 2-0. Min. 94: N. Jackson.
Referee: Germán Cid Camacho. Castilian-Leonese Committee. Booked: Home; Dela, Migue, P. Iñiguez and N. Jackson. Away; Dani Romera A. Quintanilla, Del Campo, Aythami and Albarrán. Joan Oriol was sent off for an assault (95th minute).
Match information: Match between Villarreal B and Gimnàstic de Tarragona, corresponding to the final of the promotion to the second division, held at the Estadio de Balaídos in front of 2,000 spectators.
