CD THADER – 1 CF BENIDORM – 1
This hard fought draw against a David Villa part owned Benidorm, was without doubt a game of 2 halves. Back in late September, Thader took a bit of a hammering at Benidorm, the start of a dismal run of results for the team from Rojales.
Subsequently, Benidorm have gone from strength to strength, leading the Community league by a massive 10 points, whilst Thader are also on the ascendency, one place off the relegation zone.
Following a disappointing defeat at Olimpic last weekend, a much more experienced Thader side took the field at Moi Gomez stadium on Sunday morning, inside which a fair number of ex pat Benidorm fans were gathered.
Ref Miguel Lucas (first year at this level) wasted no time in imposing his authority on the game, booking Thader’s Fran for a nasty looking challenge on a visiting opponent, as early as 1 min 56 sec. Thader’s defence repelled wave after wave of Benidorm assaults, and it seemed only a matter of time before the little Britain seaside resort would take the lead. Twas only the brilliance of keeper Chema plus wayward finishing that kept the goal intact, but on 22 mins, a tragic own goal became Thader’s undoing.
A routine cross from the left wing, appeared to be a bread and butter clearance for the normally reliable Pascual, but sadly he sliced his clearance into his own net. A shell shocked no 5 just wanted the earth to swallow him up, but as a Swedish Thader fan later said to me, ‘sh*t happens’!!
Seven mins later, it was almost 2-0, had a cross by Jose Cortes not hit the post, before bouncing to safety. Pedro Juan was put through on goal on 41 mins, but a debateable linesman’s offside flag cut short any celebrations.
When both Javi & Juan were booked on 53 mins for petulant fouls, it appeared for all to see that frustration was causing the hosts to lose their discipline. But fortunately, they soon got their act together, none more so than when Tremino converted a cross from Pedro Juan on 67 mins, to make proceedings all square.
Tremino looked to have made it a brace, but his deft header was somehow cleared off the line by a defender who suddenly appeared from nowhere! By this stage, the game was frantic end to end football, with both sides giving their all.
On 83 mins, the dangerous Jose Cortes forced Chema to make an outstanding acrobatic save, as his Benidorm side were close to pulling off a late winner. Tempers became frayed in stoppage time, following a Benidorm player being unceremoniously forced into the advertising hoardings.
As a result, a red card was shown to the Benidorm bench, presumably to an official, although it could have quite easily have been a player.
Next up for Thader is a trip to La Nucia, who currently sit 10th in the division. This match will be either 17 or 18 Feb, but it is strongly advised to visit CD Thader facebook page for further updates.
Thader fans are welcome to travel on the team coach for a small fee.
