Ten-man Monte stumble at Aspe
THE RED'S recent dip in away form continued on Saturday, at the picturesque ‘Las Fuentes’ municipal ground in Aspe, going down 2-1 after also going down to 10 men early in the contest.
The game, played in bright sunshine, started with the home side on the front foot and early indecision meant Sergio had to be on his toes, with a smart save to his right.
On 15 minutes, just as Monte had started to get the measure of their opponents and grow into the contest, the annoyingly myopic referee managed to spot what can only be assumed to be a retaliatory kick by midfielder Kevin, after he had been unceremoniously hacked down in the centre circle (equally mysteriously, not spotted). The usual kangaroo court of opposition players surrounded the ref, presumably baying for what they ultimately got - a red card. So, Monte would have to play the remaining 75-odd minutes, a man down.
Being brutally honest, this one incident turned what was shaping up to be a decent encounter into an altogether different affair.
Emboldened by the man advantage, Aspe pushed on to try and make it count. Monte, for their part, enabled siege mode, with Pato being the sole outlet ball, and although the home side came close, it was that man Pato who created and took a chance entirely of his own making, much against the run of play on 27 minutes. A lofted ball forward by Pamies saw the Monte goalsmith out-think both the two Aspe central defenders and a hopelessly out of position keeper to lob the ball home. Unlikely, given the circumstances, but the Reds had the advantage. The half petered out without either side creating much in the ends of the pitch that mattered.
The second spell saw Aspe set about their task with some renewed vigour and a visibly wilting Monte struggled to cope with wave after wave of increasingly frequent probing attacks. Within a couple of minutes of the start, only a desperate goal line clearance kept Aspe from levelling early on. The Reds were riding their luck.
But, just when it seemed like Aspe would run out of ideas and luck, a change of personnel by Monte on the hour, saw Aspe take full advantage of the reset with their equaliser. A simple pass, slipped through the channel, saw the Aspe forward one on one with Sergio and the ball nestled comfortably in the corner.
Monte's heads could have dropped, but in all honesty, they started to play their best football of the game so far. Hopes were high at that point that Aspe had shot their bolt and the visitors could still escape with a point.
In a cruel twist though, those hopes were dashed when on 80 minutes a half-cleared cross from the right, fell invitingly to an Aspe player on the penalty spot, who volleyed home.
Heartbreak then for the Reds, who more or less had the measure of a physical but lacking in ideas, Aspe side, who had the advantage of a poor referee and an extra man for the vast bulk of the game.
Monte tried manfully to wrestle themselves back into the game, but their best just wasn't good enough on this occasion. Even a belated red for Aspe on 90 minutes, for a scything challenge on Poyatos, didn't alter the balance of power noticeably.
Monte gave their all, but it was not to be against a distinctly average side.
The Easter break will be pause for thought and regrouping as tricky home games hove into view.