Murcia 3-1 Huelva
It was a tough experience for the lads, we got up at the crack of dawn and set off for Murcia. The bus ride took a toll on the players as we rolled through the endless hills of Spain, we finally reached Murcia but we drove around the city centre looking for a sign that the stadium may be close, eventually we reached an industrial park with the same name as the stadium. In the distance the recognizable hills rolled into the distance and as we turned a corner there stood the stadium. It is the most impressive of all the second division stadiums holding 31,000 spectators. The bus parked outside the stadium and we made our way into the refurbished changing rooms. It was a calm atmosphere as all the players got ready to go out and play. Words were exchanged and we set off to play the first game of the new regime.
Walking out of the tunnel we were greeted by a huge ray of sun, as I looked around a measly 11,000 spectators turned out to see their local team. I took my place in the dugout as the players assembled into a huddle to a chorus of boo's. We set up in a 4-4-2 formation and the game kicked off. The first 15 minutes we were all over them. Relentless attacks were met by poor finishing by our forwards. On the 13th minute Joselu was put through by Eziquiel only to cannon it of the bar from 18 yards. On the 17th minute we easily lost the ball in the centre of the field, their midfielder played a hopeful long ball towards star forward Kike who was one on one with our keeper. He took two touches before rounding the keeper and nestling it in to the bottom corner, he wielded away towards the supporters as they celebrated their 1-0 lead. They started to dominate and we were punished on 23 mins as the cross came in and Kike buried his second from 6 yards. We looked deflated but we held on until half time and the players took their respected seats.
I encouraged the lads that we could get this game back and to show the same performance I saw in those first 15 mins. That didn't change the atmosphere, those two goals hurt us and there may not be a way back.
The second half was an improvement, we held our own and even had a few pops at goal, that was until the cross came in and the deflection gave them a 3-0 lead... demolition. For some unexplained reason that awoke something in our lads and only 1 min later the corner came in and Joselu knocked in a header, we kept going at it and in the final minute we hit the bar from a free-kick. 3-1 was the final score and there is more work to do before Sporting next week.
We remained silent on the bus and as we finally arrived back home I climbed back in my Audi and headed off to my apartment in the city centre, I needed a good nights rest before training in the morning.
