Match Reports

We made the two hour trip up the Mediterranean coast to El Ejido, along with a 1000 other Malaga supporters, to see if Malaga could make history by beating the previous best start in the Second Division of five wins and a draw by beating Poli Ejido to make it six out of six.

Salva was again out injured and so too was Carpintero, both injured during the week's training sessions , so Muniz was forced to changed his winning side. His changes were minimal, bringing in Apono to replace Carpintero as defensive midfielder and drafting in Ivan Rosado to replace Salva on the bench.

Teams:

Poli Ejido (4-2-3-1): Bello Serans; De Muner, Rodri, Tena, Almirón; Usero and Juan; Gerardo, Moreno and Mario Bermejo; Jorge Molina.

Málaga: (4-1-3-2): Goitia ; Jesús Gámez, Hélder Rosário, Weligton and Rossato; Apoño; Paulo Jorge, Hidalgo and Calleja: Peragón and Baha.

Malaga got off to the best of starts by going ahead after only 12 minutes. The ineffectual Paulo Jorge sliced his cross into the box, where Baha and Peragon were waiting. It didn't reach either of them, but instead went straight to a defender, who in turn sliced his clearance. Baha was first to pounce and slide the ball in front of the unmarked PERAGON, standing alone at the far post and the little striker stroked the ball home from 6 yards.

Poli Ejido 0 Malaga 1

Although Malaga were in their usual first half formation i.e. strong defence, no midfield and two hardworking strikers, Poli Ejido could not take advantage and the game became a scrappy affair with the ball spending long periods in outer space high above the playing surface.
The only shots on goal were from Baha in 17 minutes which was weakly struck and went straight to Bello Serans in the Poli goal and Molina and Bermejos for Polideportivo with shots on the half hour that Goitia was able to gather with ease.

Half time Poli Ejido 0 Malaga 1

It was no surprise that the continually underperforming Paulo Jorge was taken off at half time, with the direct substitution of Cheli on the right wing. The new player made an immediate impact with strong runs down the right wing which surprised the local left back with his pace and skill.
But it was Poli Ejido who started the brighter and started to impose themselves on the Malaga defence. The two central defenders, Rosario and Weligton, did not look so commanding in this match as in previous games and the local team seemed to grow in confidence. They got their reward in 53' when a corner swung across from their right met their centre forward's head for a free header (Rosario was nowhere near him) but the striker's effort went high over the bar. But, what's this, the referee is pointing to the spot! Weligton had wrestled another player off the ball onto the ground and the referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty. BERMERJO made no mistake with a well taken spot kick.

Poli Ejido 1 Malaga 1

As has happened in previous games when Malaga have suffered such a set back, they went up the field and scored again! Hidalgo, who had hitherto been anonymous, appeared on the left wing and was pressed by the right back into the corner. He somehow managed to get free and run along the by-line and the goalkeeper Bello Serans came out of his goal to try and stop him. Hidalgo however managed to get the ball into the box where Calleja was waiting but the ball was deflected into his own net by TENA.

Poli Ejido 1 Malaga 2

The game was still evenly balanced although Malaga had the one goal advantage and were determined to hold onto it.
In 78' Eliseu came on for the tiring Calleja. Again his impact was palpable as he has genuine pace and is very willing to run the length of the park with the ball, which he did on a number of occasions, easing the burden of his defence and creating a counterattacking move.

Rossato, the Brazilian left back with the shot of Roberto Carlos, took a free kick from 30 yards, after Eliseu had been hacked down in 81' after one such mazy run. His shot whizzed past the wall and everybody in the box and Bello Serans did well to stop the shot, but was unable to hold onto the ball. He spilled it and PERAGON nipped in first to tap home his second of the match from close range.

Poli Ejido 1 Malaga 3

The game was won, wasn't it? Poli Ejido didn't think so and in 85' substitute Juli scored an excellent goal from 25 yards after some neat passing moves in midfield to make the final minutes a bit nervy for the visitors.

Poli Ejido 2 Malaga 3

With the small crowd of local fans driving them, the home team went all out for the equaliser and in the final minutes struck the woodwork twice as Malaga were reduced to some desperate defending.

Nonetheless, they could have extended their lead in the final minute of stoppage time when Eliseu took the ball from his own half and ran the full length of the pitch with Hidalgo and Baha running along with him in support down the centre of the field. However, instead of passing square to either of his team-mates the winger went for glory and shot well wide.

Full time Poli Ejido 2 Malaga 3

An excellent result for Malaga, if not an excellent performance, but their 100% record remains intact and, with Numancia being beaten 0-2 by Sporting, extending their lead at the top of the table to four points.

Next week they have a chance to make it seven wins in a row against Canary Island strugglers Las Palmas at La Rosaleda. Never fear, your Malaga CF Correspondent will be there.

Clasificación

1 Málaga 18
2 Sporting 14
3 Numancia 13
---------------------------
4 R. Ferrol 13
5 Hércules 11
6 Sevilla At 11
7 Castellón 10
8 Gimnástic 10
9 R.Sociedad 10
10 Córdoba 9
11 Elche 8
12 Tenerife 8
13 Eibar 7
14 Celta 7
15 Cádiz 7
16 Xerez 6
17 Granada74 5
18 Salamanca 4
----------------------------
19 Las Palmas 4
20 Alavés 3
21 Poli Ejido 3
22 Albacete 1

Posted by malagacf_correspondent at 8:50 AM | Permalink

On Wednesday 8 August 2007, Malaga were outplayed in Nerja by the Kettle Boys who dominated the game from start to finish, with Malaga rarely entering the opposition half.

Only some fine stops from Arnau (who was undoubtably Malaga's man of the match) kept Malaga in this game, which they could easily have lost 3-0.

In fact, the game ended goalless and again went to a penalty shoot out, as the match was for a magnificent cup. Malaga won the shoot out 4-1 and again Arnau was the hero with an excellent save, whilst another Ejido penalty came off the right hand post.

Two games played and two trophies won?!?

Malaga were dire on the night, showed nothing down either wing and were completely overrun in midfield, in a game where only Arnau and Apoño started and finished the game. Muniz's opening 11 looked very much like what might be considered his first choice and was an attacking 4-4-2 formation:

Arnau;
Raúl Gaitán, Silva, Weligton, Valcarce;
Paulo Jorge, Apoño, Antonio Hidalgo, Calleja;
Baha and Salva.

But the truth was that neither Hidalgo nor Apono were seen and Paulo Jorge seemed to have a free role and appeared to get in the way of Valcarce and Calleja down the left wing. Arnau was called upon to make two point blank saves as Ejido won several corners and dangerous free kicks, which for all that, was more entertaining than the whole game at Marbella on Saturday night.

Baha looked lost without any service whatsoever, whereas at least Salva won a few balls in the air to knock down to Mr Nobody.

The big surprise in the second half was that Malaga lined up with exactly the same eleven and the pattern continued.

The second half was a poor spectacle as both sides made numerous changes: for Malaga these changes were:

Raúl Gaitán (Javi Martos 65), Silva (Hélder 62), Weligton (Jesule 65), Paulo Jorge (Gerardo 55), Antonio Hidalgo (Carpintero 62), Calleja (Rossato 65); Baha (Sandro 55).

Over 2000 souls were in the stadium, mostly Malaga fans but quite a noisy few from El Ejido.

But my spirits were low watching this and got lower during the second half, with only one shot on goal during the whole match to report, when Rossato brilliantly beat two men to cut inside from the left wing to blast in a shot, but it went straight into the arms of the goalkeeper.

The only other player to take the eye was the little right winger from Malaga B, Gerardo, who at least showed some pace and guile, but again the supply of passes, particularly from Sandro was woeful.

From a Malaga perspective, let's hope that we are getting rid of all this rubbish now before the season starts. Poli Ejido will be very disappointed that they did not win this game convincingly.

Malaga still look three or four players short of a squad, particlularly up front, where ironically Salva (perhaps he was proving a point as he continues to be the focus of transfer speculation) was one of Malaga's best players on the night.

Posted by malagacf_correspondent at 9:57 AM | Permalink

We made the two hour trip north along the Mediterranean coast into Almeria province to watch Malaga play Poli Ejido on Sunday 18 March 2007. The ground is small with a capacity of under 8000 and on the day some 5000 spectators turned up to watch, including a fair number of travelling supporters.
Malaga’s lowly league position in 18th just above the four relegation slots and the fact that the team has managed only three goals in the last nine matches has had Manager Muniz scratching his head and changing the team’s tactics yet again. This week, he has had his team training in the more adventurous 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 formations in a bid to find the goals and the wins Malaga so badly need to avoid a second relegation in successive seasons. Sitting with 33 points after 28 games, with 14 games remaining including today’s match, the manager has set a target of 50 points (or six wins) as no team has ever been relegated from La Segunda with 50 points (yet).
Arnau continues on the bench, giving Gotia only his second game of the season. Hidalgo returns after suspension and as Malaga have only two first team strikers to call on, teenage sensation Plata was called up from the Juvenile team to sit on the bench to act as cover.

Málaga (4-4-2): Goitia; Jesús Gámez, Armando, Jesule and Valcarce; Edgar, Silva, Hidalgo and Calleja; Couñago and Iván Rosado.

Joy of joys! What a start! After only six minutes – Malaga go ahead! Yes – they scored a goal! HIDALGO, standing on his own, 25 yards out sends in a looping shot over the heads of a crowded penalty box and past home keeper Kike for the opening goal.
Let me tell you, it felt really good to see a Malaga goal and all sorts of hope and other ridiculous feelings swarm through your veins. Perhaps Malaga has turned the corner. Perhaps reverting to 4-4-2 suits the players at Muniz’s disposal. Perhaps we can dream of staying in this Division this year and building a team in the summer which can propel the club back into the First Division.
It didn’t last. After only ten minutes more, veteran striker ORTIZ ran into the box after a slick passing move through the centre of the field and expertly put the ball beyond Goitia’s reach to equalise.
Still, the game was poised with both teams looking good value.
Then, just before half-time, Silva went down in heap after a tackle on Toedtli, Poli’s other striker. It takes a lot to bring down Silva and it looked serious for a while, yet after a dosing of the magic spray and sponge, he was back up and playing again.
Half-time Poli 1 Malaga 1
It was clear that Silva wasn’t fit and so after only 3 minutes after the restart, he was substituted for Sandro. Now you must know by now that Sandro is not my favourite player, as he demands the ball, tries a World Cup pass and inevitably gives possession away to the opposing team. However, in the circumstances it did seem right to bring on another creative midfielder as Malaga went looking for the win they desperately need.
However, as Malaga were reorganising after the substitution, Poli’s big striker TOEDTLI controlled a loose ball in the penalty area and blasted the ball past Gotia from close range to put the home side ahead.
Poli 2 Malaga 1
Muniz made his second change soon after in the 55th minute, taking off Edgar and bringing on Perico. He also changed the formation, going to a 4-2-3-1 set up, with striker Rosado out wide on the right and Perico supporting Counago through the middle.
Again, as Malaga were reorganising after this substitution, Poli stepped in to take advantage. Pedro Vega took a free kick out on the left wing and found centre back TENA’s head in the crowded penalty area. The centre back’s header was strong and true and put Poli into an unassailable position. There was no way really, given their record, how you could see Malaga score two more goals for a draw, let alone three more for a win.
Poli 3 Malaga 1
We were scared that Muniz might make another substitution and lose another goal!
In 67’ he did make his final substitution, bringing on left winger Ernesto (he of the red boots) on for captain Valcarce. The arm band went to Sandro and Calleja fell back to left back to allow space for Ernesto to run down the left wing.
We waited with bated breath, but this time there was no response from Poli as before. However, the small team from Almeria province were playing with a swagger and their teenage midfielder, Sunny Sunday, was controlling the centre of the park, allowing Malaga no opportunity to push forward.
There was a very short flurry of shots on goal from first Counago and then Rosado which had the crowd whooping a little but giant keeper Kike never looked seriously troubled.
Just when we had resigned ourselves to this crushing defeat, Sandro did what he does best, just before the full time whistle. Standing alone in the middle of is own half in 88’, he unbelievably passed the ball straight to Poli sub MORENO. The striker had time to smooth down his pony tail before he ran past Jesus Gamez to crash Poli’s fourth goal past the unfortunate Gotia.
Full time Poli Ejido 4 Malaga 1

What a disaster! Muniz puts out his most attacking line-up this season, his team score an early goal and then they are thrashed 4-1. Poli were more organised, more hungry for the ball, more motivated to chase lost causes and were devastating in their finishing. At the end Malaga looked a very sorry sight.
Fortunately, the four bottom teams were unable to make much headway on Malaga this weekend, so that the Blue and Whites can go through another week without being in the dreaded red zone. All four teams have to play Malaga yet (are these four of the six wins they need?)
At the moment, the only way I can see Malaga staying up is if these bottom four teams continue to lose all their games from now until the end of the season.
Next week? At home for another local derby against Xerez. Your Malaga CF Correspondent will be there.

Posted by malagacf_correspondent at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Saturday 14 October 2006: 18:30h kick off and the sun has just set behind the new Tribuna stand giving some relief from the still hot 27C sun.
Malaga's opponents this week are Andalucian rivals Polideportivo Ejido from the Almeria province. The most interesting fact about this team is that they are managed by Antonio Tapia who was fired by Malaga last January after their poor first half of last season. Tapia was also previously manager of Malaga B before he took over the big team, so he knows the personnel at La Rosaleda inside out. His team this year however have had an indifferent start to the season, lying 15th out of 22 before the start of this game, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats in their first seven games.
Malaga, after their poor showing against Cuidad de Murcia last week are lying 6th and the home fans were looking for a drastic improvement and a home win to keep them in touch with the leaders. Some factions have been calling for Alonso's head already as he doesn't seem able to motivate his team, nor know his best eleven from a 28 strong squad. The defence has been giving away goals and his defensive 4-2-3-1 line-ups has not led to Malaga dominating games in a division in which they should be just too strong for the opposition.
So we were delighted with the announcement of the team, which lined up in a more attacking 4-4-2 formation with Counago up front alongside Salva.
Malaga (4-4-2): Arnau; Jesus Gamez, Silva, Cesar Navas and Valcarce; Saul, Hidalgo, Romero and Calleja; Salva and Counago.
Poli Ejido: (4-2-3-1): Kike; Cristian, Tena, Robusta and Ramos; Sunny Sunday and Usero; Ortiz, Victor Sales and Vega; Toedtli.

Ejido kick off defending the Fondo end in their change strip of all fluorescent yellow, which reminded me of street cleaners. But it's all Malaga as they bear down on the Ejido goal from the outset. Hidalgo is having a good start to the game and is spraying passes all around the midfield. Indeed we only have to wait until the fourth minute for the first attempt at goal when Hidalgo finds 8'3" central defender Cesar in the opposition box and Kike has to make a save from the giant's header.
In 6' Calleja tries the audacious when he notices Kike at the edge of his 18 yard box. The winger fires a shot from half way but it's wide of the post.
In 13' Calleja crosses from the left to find Salva's head and Kike punches over as Malaga maintain the pressure. From the corner the ball comes out to Romero in midfield. The bandy legged Uruguayan defensive midfielder lets loose and his shot is blocked by an arm in the box. No penalty, says the ref.
Malaga have all the possession and Kike has to make another save this time from Coinage's header in 17'.
Then the first booking of the game in 18'. Calleja is booked for a stupid tackle from behind.
The following minute Saul's cross from the right produces a strong header from Salva which Kike can only scramble away. The ball lands at Saul's feet whose shot is beaten down off an arm in the box. Again penalty appeals come to nothing.
In 21' Ejido's combatitive midfielder Sunday is booked for persistent fouling.
In 31' Saul tries a Pele; you know, where he hits a ball right and tries to run left around the keeper and then back for the ball, but Kike just manages to get his fingertips to the ball to avert the danger.
In 32' it's Ejido's first foray into the Malaga half and it's former Malaga B captain, Usero, who finds himself one on one with Arnau. The Malaga keeper hesitates (as per usual) but Usero's shot hits the side net.
The next minute we're back in the Ejido goalmouth and Saul's shot is scrambled away by Kike, who is having a busy time and yet managing to keep his goal intact, one way or another.
In 41' Kike produces yet another fine save after some good short passing play between Counago and Calleja which allows Salva to fire in a shot at the near post. The big keeper gets down well.
In 43' Romero becomes the second Malaga booking of the game for not retreating quickly enough at a free kick. Then Ortiz is booked for a foul on Calleja.
Half time 0-0
Straight after the kick-off and Cesar becomes Malaga's third man in the book after going through from the back in a tackle on Toedtli.
In 53' Usero is booked for a foul on Counago.
In 55' Alonso makes a double substitution, bringing off Counago and Saul for Ernesto and Jonaton. Extremely left footed Ernesto goes wide right and Jonaton Valle finds a spot just off Salva up front.
In 56' Malaga have their best opportunity when Romero heads towards an open goal with Kike grounded after a powerful drive from Ernesto. Somehow a defender appears from the ether to head the ball off the line.
In 63' Salva is booked for the fifth time this season, this time for diving. It's Malaga's fourth of the game.
In 64' Ejido match Malaga on the bookings front when Toedtli is booked for dissent.
In 65' Malaga maintain their search for goal having had more than 90% of the play in Ejido's half. Jonaton, however, skies his effort when a shot on target would have been a certain goal.
Then disaster for Malaga in 69'. In Ejido's second attack of the match, the ball is adjudged by the referee to come off Silva's arm in the box. Penalty! Both Valcarce and Jonaton are booked for protesting. (Six bookings so far).
Against a cacophony of shrill whistles and jeers around the ground, TOEDTLI makes no mistake from the spot.
Malaga 0 Ejido 1
In 72' Valcarce is substituted for Sandro who slots into midfield. Calleja moves to left back, Ernesto moves across to left wing and Jonaton goes wide right in a number of tactical changes.
In 74' Sandro is booked for dissent. (Booking 7)
In 78' Tena is booked for a foul on Salva.
Malaga continue to attack, but the tempo has increased threefold.
In 79' Calleja takes a free kick on the right 30 yards out. He finds CESAR in the box and this time his header finds the back of the net.
Malaga 1 Ejido 1.
It's exciting stuff as Malaga pile on the pressure in the closing ten minutes, but Kike and his defence hold out for Malaga to drop another two points at home.
Final score: Malaga 1 Ejido1

Next week Malaga are away to Xerez, another Andalucian rival from Jerez. On this occasion Your Malaga CF Correspondent will be making the 3 hour journey to have a long weekend in the city renowned for it's sherry and brandy bodegas. The game is live on TV with a 12:00 noon Sunday kick-off scheduled. Your Malaga CF Correspondent will be there.

Posted by malagacf_correspondent at 1:28 PM | Permalink