A tough first defeat for Real Betis in Ponferrada (4-1)

Ponferradina made a comeback from 0-1 scored by Molina in the first minutes of the second half

The Second Division is a very treacherous league in which teams will continue fighting right up until the final whistle. All the good play by Real Betis in the first half was undone in just 14 minutes and the green-and-white suffered a first and painful loss

 

Velázquez had some novelties in the starting eleven at Toralín such as Piccini instead of Molinero, and some which were no surprise to anyone such as Jorge Casado on the left wing replacing an injured Álex Martínez. In fact it was Casado who managed to get in the first shot for his team but the distance meant that it had little impact. 

 

Betis, once again, felt comfortable on the field of play, they were the ones who set the pace of the match and who were in control. Their possession of the ball lasted for a long time and they moved the ball around well but they failed to create any real danger at their opponents goal. Matilla tried but he did not reach the diagonal pass from Rubén. A few minutes later the player from the Canary Islands was to have more luck, but for the moment it was Ponferradina who were putting the pressure on when a powerful shot by Acorán struck the crossbar. The team from Ponferrada relied on direct approaches but Antonio Adán was confidently vigilant. 

 

It was when Ponferradina were at full stretch that the visiting team got their reward. Piccini was the canniest on the pitch and the most powerful, he gained possession of the ball in his own area and started a counterattack. The Italian's drive up the pitch was perfect and when he had no more options he yielded the ball to Cejudo who found an opening on the left wing where Rubén Castro was waiting. The forward had perfect timing, he made the most of the piece of play seeing that his room mate was unmarked on the far post and gave the assist that set up the goal. In the 27th minute, Molina scored his first goal and Rubén had his second assist of the season. Betis's confidence grew after the goal, as did Piccini's. The wing -back took on the role as an attacking midfielder and gave an assist that should have been a goal for Molina who got round the goalkeeper only to be brought down in an obvious penalty, but the referee considered the piece of play as being off-side when the player from Alcoy was definitely on-side. It was a piece of play that could have changed the match because it was clearly a penalty and would have seen the home goalie sent off. Later, Molina didn't manage to score the second off a pass by Cejudo and the home team started to believe in themselves. Ponferradina put the pressure on to such an extent that in the final minutes of the first half they claimed a handball by Piccini in his own area wasting an opportunity for Berrocal against Adán.

 

A good first half was lost in the second. After half time, Velázquez sent Bruno on in place of Figueras who had a yellow card. At the beginning of the second half all the effort put in by the home team in the last minutes of the first had is reward when an error in the midfield allowed Yuri, after a collision with Bruno to score the equaliser from the floor. The match got uglier when Ponferradina went ahead on the scoreboard with a goal by Acorán (2-1). Betis became very nervous, in excess, and another loss of possession in the midfield gave Acorán the opportunity to centre the ball from the right wing which Yuri put into the back of the net on the far post. In just 14 minutes and with 3-1 on the scoreboard, Betis laid waste to all the good work done in the first half. 

 

It took Betis some time to come round and the Betis manager sent on Rennella and Pacheco in substitution for Xavi and Molina. But they still did not look comfortable and only a good piece of play by Rennella, finished by Rubén, caused any real danger for Ponferradina. The endless corners and the lack of precision in the passes by the Heliopolitan team hemmed them in in their own half and stopped them from developing their game. And the worst was to come. Yuri heeled the ball into the goal scoring the fourth making the difference insurmountable for Betis. The green-and-whites were lost and lost sight of the match which had become impossible since the 14th minute of the second half.