End to the El Molinón jinx: victory for Sporting in their fiefdom after three months
The whistles turned into a loud ovation in the blink of an eye. And Sporting ended disheveled: winning at home three months later. The last victory in the League was as far away as it was on October 16 against the red lantern, Alcorcón. They were golden times. Today’s are more complicated. And the fans knew it well, very angry with their own for those atrocious first forty-five minutes. It bothered the rojiblanca people that the team abused handling the ball backwards and did not advance. It annoyed people that the first half was completed with a shot on goal with that distant strike by Pedro. Even Gallego asked the stands for patience. So much so that at the break things looked very bad. Very bad, actually. Until the VAR gave Sporting a second chance.
The debate is now on whether the rojiblancos are in good or bad shape, depending on how you look at it. For Gallego, they are in full swing, on the rise. The numbers more or less give him the reason. Sporting have not lost since they hit it in Las Palmas: they have not fallen again in the last eight games. But what would be a very good figure, it needs more points to be a boost, because in this recent streak a lot has had to do with the Copa del Rey (2 wins and a draw). And now the important thing is to win again in the League. The play-off is six points away. It is not impossible.
The VAR, a friend: success in annulling Amorebieta’s 0-2
Science has those things. A few years ago surely SD Amorebieta would have left Gallego very touched and would have won at El Molinón. But the irruption of VAR in football is for this: to remedy other people’s mistakes, such as the one made by Sánchez Gómez from Murcia, who first accepted Peña’s 0-2 as good. But Prieto Iglesias from Las Rozas informed those present at El Molinón that Unzueta was offside. Not because he was the most advanced, which he wasn’t, but because what the rules say is that behind the goalkeeper, that is, behind Mariño, there must always be two defenders for an opponent to be in the correct position. And Guruzeta only had Babin ahead when he received the ball from Guruzeta. The VAR encouraged a Sporting that was in the UCI.
Villalba, goal for his guardian angel: he dedicates his goal to his cousin Daniela, sick with covid
Fran Villalba scored a very valuable goal and went straight to the cameras to make a “D” with the fingers of his hand, a gesture that did not go unnoticed. The goal is for Daniela, her ten-year-old cousin, who is spending these days confined to her apartment in Valencia after testing positive for coronavirus. Daniela is Villalba’s number 1 fan. He never misses his cousin’s matches.
And yesterday he followed the meeting from the television, but on other occasions he travels with his uncle, José Carlos, Fran’s father. For this reason, the Sporting midfielder remembered little Daniela at the time. Because the two are very close. The gesture instantly had repercussions among the player’s family, all excited by the winning goal and also because that goal is a kick for the young Valencian, who hopes to see her cousin again soon.
Rivera, Pedro and Villalba: triumvirate to govern
Christian Rivera, who knows about this for a while, has already started giving master classes. “It’s diesel,” assured his “repres” at the beginning of the returnee. Today, the man from Gijón, signed by Rico (it is also fair to say it), champions the style of the coach, who, by the way, solved what seemed to be a good mess. With Gragera in the chamber, Rivera, Pedro and Villalba, the crack that Sporting will sign as soon as possible, and with whom he began negotiating in December, there is an exciting midfield. And young: Gragera (21 years old), Pedro (23), Rivera (24) and Villalba (23).
Aitor García recovers his sense of smell: he has three goals in the last four games
Aitor García has recovered the smell of yesteryear. He scored goals against Amorebieta again, and he has scored five goals this season, second highest scorer after Djuka. The one from Gibraleón has three in the last four games. He’s on a roll. And with practically the entire second round ahead of him, he is just one goal away from equaling his best numbers since he landed in Gijón: the 6 goals he scored in the 2019-2020 season. The most positive thing is that the winger is no longer just the goals he scores. He’s getting better at everything else, too. He runs the same as always – with a little more sense – and he has also assumed prominence and feels like one of the great leaders of the attack. A relief for the good Gallego, who has been asked for a forward for January, and, if there is money left over, to another winger to aspire to come back. In those is the DD.
