Castellón beat Intercity in game of two halves (2-1)

The Albinegres were particularly impressive in the second half and make it three wins from three.

Castellón overcame some early adversity to record an impressive win against Intercity and continue their perfect start to the season, with a goal from Raúl Sánchez and a brace from Jesús De Miguel ensuring the 11,515 fans in attendance at Castalia went home happy.

It was a challenging first half for Castellón, with the visitors clearly having the upper hand. Intercity had the first chance of the game after just three minutes, with Crettaz forced into a save, and followed that up fifteen minutes later with a shot by Moha Traoré that Castellón had to clear for a corner.

Castellón were less intense than usual in the first 30 minutes, and the side from Alicante took full advantage to create chances, the best of which was a shot by an unmarked Emilio Nsue. He was played in by Traoré but placed his effort over the bar.

Despite a lot of impressive play from Intercity, Castellón held firm and took the lead with their first good chance of the game. A ball down the wing for Manu Sánchez allowed him to fizz a low cross across the box, which was missed by Gaizka in the Intercity goal. Raúl Sánchez did not falter and was there to tap in and give Castellón the advantage.

Medunjanin almost made it two minutes later, but his goal-bound shot was well blocked. The goal seemingly motivated Castellón to push on further and dial up the pressure. However, as with the first goal, it was the team playing better who conceded. A corner on the stroke of halftime allowed Emilio Nsue to outjump his defender and place a header into the back of the net, a deserved goal given the balance of play in the first half.

Intercity’s joy was short-lived, however. The Castellón side that came out for the second half was a different beast, and they were 3-1 up within 10 minutes. Jesús De Miguel lived up to the new number nine on the back of his shirt, having changed from the 21 he wore last year, grabbing both goals in clinical fashion. The first was a great finish after being set up by a Medunjanin back heel, while the second saw him pounce on a rebound after Villahermosa’s initial shot was saved. The Bosnian was involved in both, putting in yet another impressive performance in a Castellón shirt.

Although Intercity were able to generate some chances of their own - including a long-range effort that forced Crettaz into a fine save - it was mostly one-way traffic in the second forty-five.

Jeremy De Leon’s introduction with 15 minutes left to play also caused problems, the Puerto Rican making a couple of dangerous runs through the Intercity defense much to the delight of Castalia.

The fluidity of Castellón’s play for both goals was something to behold, and the objective will clearly be to keep that going in the two back-to-back away games against Antequera and Recreativo.

Castellón: Crettaz, Indias, Alberto, Oscar Gil, Manu Sánchez (Chirino 85), Calavera, Salva Ruiz (Jozhua 69), Medunjanin (De Leon 75), Villahermosa (Granero 69), Raúl Sanchez, De Miguel

Intercity: Gaizka, Guillem Jaime, Álvaro Pérez, Rafa Gálvez (Camara 46), Cristo Romero, Undabarrena, Bellotti (Burlamaqui 57), Nsue, Xemi (Soldevila 66), Pol Roige (Simon 66), Traore (Cebeiro 78)

Referee: Luis Bestard Servera

Attendance: 11515