Last week in Castellón: Recreativo win and discussions over Castalia

Castellón recover from scare to beat Recreativo 3-2 as Bob Voulgaris calls for progress on Castalia improvements.

THE GAME: CASTELLÓN 3-2 RECREATIVO

FIRST HALF

Despite Del Pozo’s early shot for the visitors, Castellón controlled the game for the opening 20 minutes, limiting Recreativo’s chances and spending much of the time in their half, albeit without seriously threatening Rubén Galvez’s goal.

In fact, it was the visitors had another long range effort go narrowly past the post on the 20 minute mark, and again two minutes later, although the second was an easy save for Crettaz.

Castellón continued to turn up the pressure and kept Recreativo pinned in their half for a good five minutes, the sequence ending with a header by Chirino that was easily held by the Recreativo keeper.

There was no let up though, and after several dangerous crosses, one of which saw an acrobatic attempt by Julio Gracia, it was Douglas who finally hit the jackpot 42 minutes in, with a great header at the back post that left the Recre keeper with no chance. He had Suero to thank for a great touch and a perfectly weighted cross.

The samba party continued in added time, as another run down the left from the Brazilian opened up the visitors’ defence, and his cutback could only be turned in by the helpless Domínguez to double Castellón’s lead. It was a move that capped off a great first half from the January signing, perfectly following up his first goal for the club last week against Castilla.

SECOND HALF

Castellón’s dominance continued to start the second 45, with Chirino firing off a dangerous effort 10 minutes in, and Recreativo struggling to spend significant time in Castellón’s half. However games can turn in an instant, and two through balls from Recreativo left Castellón on the canvas just after the hour mark.

The first found De La Rosa, and Crettaz couldn’t help bringing him down in the box despite getting a foot on the ball. Alcade converted the resulting penalty, delivering the first blow. The second found David Del Pozo who took advantaged of an out of place and spaced out Castellón defence to calmly round Crettaz and slot in to an empty net and level the game. With fans having flashbacks to Córdoba two weeks prior, the mood at Castalia changed. But the doubts lasted seven minutes.

The albinegros got off the canvas like Tyson Fury, and Isra Suero once again worked his magic. He turned his man on the edge of the box and was brought down to give Castellón a clear penalty and the chance to go back in front. The man who won it took it, breaking the team’s missed penalty streak to relieve the almost 10,000 fans present at Castalia.

While Recre went close with a shot by De La Rosa from a narrow angle, Crettaz was there, and the visitors began to tire. Douglas fired wide from a narrow angle, and despite seven minutes of added time, Castellón held out to secure a vital win that puts them 5 points clear at the top of the table with 8 games remaining, after Córdoba failed to beat Mérida.

LINEUPS

CD Castellón: Crettaz, Manu Sánchez, Alberto, Salva Ruiz (Jozhua 78), Chirino, Lottin (Moyita 62), Julio Gracia (Villahermosa 62), Douglas, Suero (Oscar Gil 78), Medunjanin (Raul Sanchez 78), De Miguel

Recreativo: Ruben Galvez, S. Diez (Antonito 72), Ruben Serrano, Alberto Trapero (Iturraspe 88), Rahim, Nunez, Del Pozo, Dominguez (Miguelete 78), Alcalde, De La Rosa, Alvaro Bustos (Diaz 72)

Goals: Douglas 41, Domínguez og 45+2, Alcalde pen 59, Del Pozo 61, Suero pen 68

Referee: Juan Antonio Campos Salinas

Attendance: 9782

DICK’S THOUGHTS

“You saw how the team was at 2-2, they came back strong. We dominated the first half. We warned them at half time to make the simple pass, and we still got punished two times.”

“I see a team fighting every day in training. Everyone knows it’s not going to be easy. People have to understand that we’re not playing Mickey Mouse teams. This league is very competitive.”

THE NEWS

Discussions over Castalia rumble on without progress

As Castellón continue to top the Primera RFEF and promotion looks likely, the issue of the agreement over Castalia has become more urgent, with little progress being made according to Bob Vouglaris. In a series of tweets, the Castellón president questioned the delays and laid out the steps he and the club taken to speed up the process, including allowing head of legal and board member Alberto Gonzalez to represent him fully at meetings and even attending one of the meetings himself.

With the stadium badly in need of refurbishment work regardless of the division they find themselves playing in next year, Voulgaris added that the work that needed to be done to make the ground La Liga 2 compliant would take between 2-4 months, hence the need to start now. City council member Vincent Sales stated last week that the council was “aware of the need for refurbishment work in the event of a promotion” and remained optimistic about reaching a deal before the end of the season.

However there is clearly some doubt over whether the club and the council are close to being on the same page, and the statements by council raise more questions than answers. Would the refurbishment be dependent on Castellón getting promoted? If a deal isn’t reached in time for the upgrades to be completed before the start of next season, where would the albinegros play to start the new campaign? All of these issues will hopefully be resolved as soon as possible, as the season draws to a close in two months time.

Traoré sidelined with injury

After establishing himself in the starting XI over the last few games, Mamadou Traoré will unfortunately face some time on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the 2-0 away to Real Madrid Castilla. The Malian had looked impressive in the left wing-back role, and it is unknown how long he will be out for, although it seems to be a groin issue.

Castellon B once again in rough spot

It is certainly been a rollercoaster season for the B team, alternating between winning and losing streaks. After putting together a good run which left them not far from the playoff positions in Tercera Federacion, they have once again fallen off the pace, with consecutive heavy defeats at home to Patacona (1-4) and away to Castellonense (3-0).

THE STATS

117 - The number of minutes Isra Suero has needed for either a goal or an assist this season, the best mark of any Castellón player.

9 - Castellón’s lead over Ibiza, who have dramatically fallen off the pace. The sky blues have now gone eight games without a win, losing their last two.

12 - The average league position of Castellón’s remaining opponents this season.