Villarreal CF - Athletic Club

Villarreal 2 Athletic Club 1


Athletic Club were defeated by Villarreal by 2-1, the local goals being scored by Capdevila and Nilmar, while Gabilondo scored on behalf of our team. This is not the first time that something like this has happened, but we’re left with the sensation of deserving to bring home at least one point from such a difficult pitch. Nevertheless that saying about what starts badly usually ends badly came true and the final stages of the encounter was sadly illustrative of this and best forgotten: the goal saved by Diego Lopéz from a penalty taken by Iraola and the sending off of Javi Martínez, Orbaiz and Caparrós, which means that the first two will not be able to play on Sunday against Tenerife. A heavy blow that the team must recover from as soon as possible before trying to bring Anderlecht to their knees on Thursday at San Mamés.

Our team did not come out onto the pitch to be helpful, but just the opposite, but if in the past we had goals scored against us in the second halves, now they were being scored in the first and at The Madrigal did was done quickly, too quick, when in the first local approach the ball was intercepted by Capdevila, who with his right scored the 1-0. Everything was now uphill, but little by little Athletic were gaining field position by means of rapidly getting the ball into play, covering pass lines and trying to make use from behind of the two rival wingers. In one of the goalscoring opportunities in which Llorente was not ruled offside, to be honest he was offside in some and not in others, the striker noticed that from the left there was a gap so he tried to make the most of this situation on more than one occasion. In the first attempt the goalkeeper blocked his definitive pass.

Villarreal has good press, this is undeniable, as well as good footballers, something also irrefutable, but their offensive play was not a continuous affair in the first half, although when it was they did it with a certain degree of danger, as in the 19th minute when Nilmar finished off a ball from Fuster. Our team were moving the ball from side to side, but it is also irrefutable that in addition to having our own style we don’t usually get good press and what for the host team was a long pass to Nilmar, for the visitors was a huge kick to Llorente or De Marcos, who had made his comeback to the starting eleven line up, just like Gabilondo, certainly with less goals scored than he’d have liked, but then a beautifully executed equalizing goal was achieved in minute 23 of the game on clearing the cobwebs from one of the goal’s corners that was defended by Diego Lopéz. Justice was done, with the entire relativity that encompasses this term in so many contexts and exceedingly so in the one that keeps us busy.

It seemed that the initiative was a matter of destiny for Villarreal, who until then had not assumed it, but it was Athletic who had stood their ground when it came to attacking. Thus, in minute 26, Llorente got things going again from the left and on this occasion his deadly pass was deflected to corner by a defender before Gurpegi could get there, the latter made his debut on this pitch in the 2001-2002 season. Half an hour into the match, Orbaiz was shown a yellow card, his fifth, which prevents him from playing against Tenerife, something that was unfortunately ratified in the dying minutes of the clash upon being sent off.

The minutes to follow were perhaps the best for Villarreal in a match which had been referred to as being the match of the year, a condition that was not ratified by the attendance figures, but ratified by way of the anxiety felt in their own Boxes and surroundings, reflected even when it came to the distribution of the first line up sheets with the name of the previous coach, Ernesto Valverde on them. Pires, without an angle, in the 31st minute, and Senna in a foul kick that was deflected by Iraizoz in the 32nd minute, demonstrated their good play at times. A stage in the match that Athletic found difficult to get out of and then suddenly they took up their field positions and got the initiative back.

Before the break Athletic had another clear goalscoring opportunity when Gurpegi combed a corner kick in minute 37, the defence cleared it in short and Llorente fired away with his right but it just missed. With the name of the first coach on the line up sheet or not, Villarreal’s problems to seal matches were dragging on and yesterday’s match was no exception despite managing to get ahead before halftime, in the 44th minute, in one of those moments referred to as being “psychological”. With the whole Athletic team gathered in front of their area, a pass between lines from Cani which left Nilmar alone against Iraizoz, who could do little without committing the maximum foul.

Two to one. And start again, a spirited commencement to the second half, but Villarreal seemed to be more settled or perhaps the Red-Whites were anxious. In this fashion, Godín, in the 49th, with a header and Senna, in 50th, whose shot at goal from outside the area was caught by Iraizoz, created dangerous situations but they started to speculate about the little return. The reply came in the 54th after a centre by De Marcos and Javi Martínez who took a shot at goal with his right that sailed over the crossbar, in addition to a good collective play in minute 57 that ended with a centre by Iraola that went directly to the hands of Diego Lopéz: a premonition?

From the bench bridges were starting to burn. First Susaeta stepped onto the field to replace Gurpegi in the 59th minute. And two minutes later Gonzalo almost scores his own goal in an attempt to intercept a centre from Iraola. The inexorable passing of time was turning Athletic into a riskier team and hence more vulnerable, especially in strategic moves that needed to be defended once more. In the 66th, after the umpteenth uncalled foul by Senna, Nilmar took a shot at goal and his kick ended up a corner kick, only just, after having bounced off Amorebieta. Another typical move.

Ibagaza replaced Cani which was the local’s first substitution and in minute 70 of the game Muniain stepped in for Gabilondo. However, even the strategy in their favour was a risk because of the few elements assigned to the defence, since Athletic were making all the moves, the wingers were way ahead and every counterattack move was a practical exercise from the training sessions, such as how to defend when the rival attacks with one more. For example Nilmar tried to raise the ball over Iraizoz in minute 75, but the ball had gone astray.

Villarreal, nevertheless, did not have everything their way and the defence had accumulated some absent-minded moments, as in the 76th when De Marcos finished off, by way of an excessively high volley, a “gift” from Gonzalo. Garrido sent Musacchio in for Matilla but our team’s dynamics did not change. The two centres behind, with two lines of four ahead and enormous doses of risk that was placing the particular goal average in danger, as in the 78th when a shot at goal by Ibagaza was saved by Iraizoz.

For the last “Reveille”, which unfortunately, the 2010 away games have been keeping the beat to; Toquero jumped onto the pitch to replace De Marcos and had time to live through the eventful fireworks finale. The next opportunity came in the 80th minute when Javi Martínez stood firm against Diego Lopéz, the control and subsequent shot went long, but the goalie’s clearance bounced off his back, but no luck, as it just missed.

Nilmar did not make the most of the next local run, well, it was Iraizoz who did well in saving the ball in the 85th, and in the meantime Marcos Ruben replaced Fuster. The opportunities did not come, but the Red-Whites did not throw in the towel. And then an opportunity, later marred, came about with Muniain who was brought down in the area, with no painkillers being administered by the local team, it’s clear that the gurús in the materia approve of such behaviour. And it’s curious that there are players with great press for example Senna, who for the record has never lost to Athletic Club, who is hardly ever found guilty of committing fouls, while others like Muniain are denied bread and water, even from the most nearby journalistic circles geographically speaking, as if he has to demonstrate all the time and without waving his hands about that he is the victim of a real foul. As though he were guilty of playing as he does or being shameless when precociously using the weapon that THE WHOLE WORLD uses in football.

And now it’s two the number of penalties that have not been taken advantage of in the final stages of a match, both against teams whose autonomous regions both start with the letter V, both with a 2 – 1 outcome in their favour and both matches would have resulted in two golden points, but Diego Lopéz also plays and foresaw Iraola’s shot at goal. It’s a shame with more to come: Pires had not been spot on in the counterattack move, a red card shown to both Javi Martínez and Godín for a dispute taken to the limit on behalf of both players in the air and then on the ground with the local defender being invited to box from to the bench which ended up with Caparrós being sent off (for the first time in his career) and to top it all off a double yellow card for Orbaiz.

From what could have been, a well-deserved point, to what really happened, no points at all and two of our habitual players being sent off. This is a concern for Sunday’s match but nevertheless on Thursday another competition awaits us, a very different feeling and let’s hope with a different result. In the League, and out of the blue, the theory of what starts badly usually ends badly has been proven one more time.