CD THADER – 3 CARRUS ILICITANA – 2
Just when we all thought Thader were dead and buried, they produced a fantastic spirited come back to end all come backs. For the first 65 mins, one could have been excused for mistaking that the hosts were bottom of the table, but in fact it was the hard-working visitors who held that unwanted accolade.
Due to the ongoing reseeding of Moi Gomez stadium pitch, Formentera was the venue for this Preferente div group 5 fixture against Elche based Carrus Ilicitana. Quino returned from suspension, partnering Calderon up front, whilst Amine got the nod to stand guard in-between the sticks. Encouraged from last week’s sterling effort at runaway leaders Crevillente, a well overdue morale boosting victory was very much on everyone’s mind.
Carrus Ilicitana gave early notice of their intentions, when from a well delivered cross from the left, the unmarked Antonio should have done better, but he headed wide of the far post at close range. From the very next attack, the same player shot tamely at Amine when through on goal.
Midway through the half, Quino was unceremoniously flattened on the edge of the visitor’s box. From the resultant free kick, Lloyd´s drive was well saved, but from the rebound, Quino made a pig’s ear of it. On the half hour mark, David shot into the side netting, as Carrus stepped up a gear.
Disaster stuck on 40 mins, for not only did Amine fail to clear his lines, but a further defensive bloomer allowed Antonio to slide the ball into an empty net. A minute before the interval, Javi delivered a teasing cross, only for his team mates to plead guilty to a charge of being AWOL.
Frustration was boiling over in the Thader dug out, and for the 2nd consecutive match, a yellow card was shown in the direction of the managerial team. Amine made up for his earlier howler, when on 59 mins, he pulled of a stunning save from Pepe, but it only delayed the inevitable.
Such was the lethargic attitude of Raul Mora´s men, that following another warning shot by Antonio, which missed the target by a whisker, goal number 2 arrived on 64 mins. Although David did look offside when he collected a pass, Thader´s defence had no right to imitate statues, enabling the diminutive Carrus winger to slide the ball past Amine.
Signs of a comeback looked on the cards when Quino was once again brought down, this time in the penalty area. Thader´s record of successful spot kicks hadn´t been too good this season, but captain Lloyd made no mistake with his straight down the middle screamer.
A fine mazy run by the hosts marauding full back Rosquin, resulted in his effort being well saved, then from the rebound, Quino headed over. When Fran picked up a loose ball some 25 yards from goal, there appeared no danger, but his one touch thunderbolt rocketed into the back of the net, to set up a dramatic final 8 mins.
A long ball out of defence on 85 mins fell nicely for sub Berni, who couldn´t have picked a better time to score his first goal for Thader, when he hammered the ball home from 10 yards.
Thader start the new year with a match at Rayo Ibense on weekend of 8/9 January. This will complete the first round of matches, with the men from Rojales in a healthy 6th place on 23 points.
