Reds not at the races
CD Montesinos' unbeaten home record this season fell at the first hurdle last Sunday, as a well drilled and organised Crevillente outfit became the only team so far in the division to do the double over the Reds, cantering home 2-1.
Monte didn't get off to the best of starts when an altogether familiar defensive lapse saw their opponents take the lead with barely five minutes on the clock. So, an uphill climb right at the start of the session then.
What was obvious, early on, was that Monte's movement, both in the middle and up-front was, at best, pedestrian and mostly easily dealt with by a very physical away defence.
Even having the lion's share of the ball at the back and out wide they seemed to lack the wherewithal to unlock Crevillente's massed ranks.
Despite all this possession, a further defensive howler on the half hour saw the Crevillente number 22 break free from a powder-puff tackle and slide the ball into the corner to double their lead.
As with the away fixture last year, Monte had bossed the ball in their own and middle thirds but had been unable to capitalise.
A bad afternoon then got worse, when defensive lynchpin Gocu was forced off by injury on 36 minutes, being replaced by Fernando Torrent.
So, to summarise the first half: Crevillente two attempts and two goals, CD Montesinos 80% possession and only two real attempts on goal.
The second period didn't present a radically different offering for the large crowd sunning themselves. Crevillente, as you might expect, two goals up and away from home, dipped into the bag of football ‘dark arts’ (with the ‘facial injury’ being a particular favourite, apparently) to break up and disrupt the flow of the game. But, again, Monte offered very little where it counted, in the final third and their opponent’s box.
The changes on the hour mark saw the introduction of Oussama at the back and returning old boy, Damian in the middle, but even these changes had a limited effect.
On 75 minutes, Crevillente were reduced to 10 men when Dani Sawyer was unceremoniously hacked down in the centre circle. But even this setback for the away side hardly altered the momentum of the game, as Crevillente closed ranks even closer. Half chances for Monte came and went, and on almost the final whistle Pato scored, what turned out to be a consolation, with a spectacular overhead kick, but it was all too little, too late.
So, Crevillente had done enough, just enough, to get themselves past the winning post and Monte had done what they seem to have done in a few games this year, shot themselves in the foot early doors and subsequently given themselves a Herculean task against a half decent side.
An alarming lack of craft and imagination cost them this game as much as anything else, and if their season isn't going to just peter out this has to be tackled, and quickly. Vamos Monte.
The man of the match was Pato, selected by Steve Grey on behalf of sponsors Pena USA.
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