The set-piece tactics that Santa Malaga focused on before the game showed their power!
One to zero!
The Alcorcón fans in the stands were obviously dissatisfied with their team after being surprised. They booed their team harshly.
After the game restarted, Alcorcón launched a fierce attack on Santa Malaga amid the boos of the home fans.
For a moment, artillery roared outside the Santa Malaga penalty area. Alcorcon and the substitute players were furious. Damn it, if we lose the game, what will the head coach think of us?
Our chances of winning games will definitely be less.
Santa Malaga stood ready, and goalkeeper Miguel's shouts echoed throughout the field, constantly reminding his teammates.
When the opponent's soldiers were pressing forward, Li Chuanqi and other midfielders and frontcourt players retreated to the defense line to help relieve the pressure on the defense line, leaving only Liage, who had the weakest physical fitness in the team, in front.
In the 37th minute of the first half, Alcorcon had the best chance to score. Midfielder Dolka shot a long shot from outside the penalty area, and Miguel flew to block the ball.
Alcorcon forward Sandaza shot a supplementary shot, and with his super-fast second reaction, Migue bravely blocked the football again!
Santa Malaga did not give Alcorcon a chance to shoot for the third time in a row, and the defender cleared the ball out of the sideline.
Alcorcon cried out in pain, and Santa Maraga broke out in a cold sweat.
Although this attack did not result in a goal, it gave Alcorcon confidence, and they continued to threaten the Santa Malaga goal in the following games.
In the 43rd minute of the first half, Alcorcon launched an attack from the left. Midfielder Dolka was in the corner of the penalty area. After receiving the ball, he forced his way into the penalty area and then passed across the middle.
The ball was blocked by Santa Malaga centre-back Barris Addo's outstretched foot.
By chance, the football hit Barris Addo's left hand.
"Handball!"
The Alcorcon player shouted loudly towards the referee. After a moment of hesitation, the referee blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot with his left hand!
Penalty kick!
The Santa Malaga players were obviously dissatisfied with this penalty. Barris Addo argued that it was not an intentional handball, but that the ball flew up and hit his hand.
The referee remained unmoved and insisted on his decision.
Captain Pablo couldn't do anything and persuaded his excited teammates to leave. Santa Malaga could only pin its hopes on goalkeeper Miguel.
Li Chuanqi slapped his face, damn, why didn't his intuition show up?
This is a critical moment.
But no matter how hard he tried, that super strong premonition just didn't appear.
MiG, you can only rely on yourself...
The miracle did not happen. Sandaza's penalty kick flew into the goal from the right side of the goal. Miguel obviously judged the wrong direction and saved it toward the left side of the goal.
One to one!
Alcorcon equalized the score at the end of the first half, and the fans in the stands cheered for a long time.
Coach Alcorcon, who was sitting on the bench, finally breathed a sigh of relief. If the score could not be equalized in the first half, it would have a huge negative impact on the game in the second half.
Santa Malaga was obviously affected by this conceding goal and their morale was low. Captain Pablo loudly encouraged his teammates and asked them to cheer up.
The game soon restarted, Santa Malaga launched an attack, and Alcorcon, who was high in morale, started to press aggressively in the midfield.
The two sides engaged in an exciting battle near the center circle. The muffled sound of body collisions sounded from time to time, and the scene was extremely chaotic...
In this chaotic situation, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
Players from both sides return to the locker room.
…
In the home team's locker room, the coach encouraged his players loudly: "Their defense is not watertight. Under our constant impact, problems will arise in their defense!"
Get into the restricted area more often!
After getting the ball outside the penalty area, you have to try to break into the penalty area. The opponent is just a D-level team. As long as they get into the penalty area, they will make mistakes!"
The players nodded repeatedly. This is how the goal in the first half came. Facts have proved that this tactic is very correct.
Breaking dense defense, long shots, set pieces, and breakthroughs are the three best methods. The first two were not effective in the first half, but it was the most difficult breakthrough that achieved results.
"Mindset! We must maintain a stable mentality and be clear-headed at all times. The opponent is only a D-level team. Although they can enter the second round with an upset, their strength is there!"
…
The morale in the visiting team's locker room was a little low, and Barris Addo took the initiative to stand up and take the responsibility on himself: "It's all my fault, if it wasn't the handball..."
Captain Pablo interrupted him: "This ball is not your responsibility alone. If there is any fault, it is me first. If I didn't let him break into the penalty area, what happened next would not have happened."
He looked up at his other teammates: "Now is not the time to discuss responsibilities. What we have to consider is the second half."
Coach Antonio nodded and said: "Yes, there is no need to discuss responsibility now. When it comes to responsibility, as a coach, I have the biggest responsibility!"
His teammates also comforted Baris Addo, which made him feel better.
Seeing that the players' emotions slowly stabilized, Antonio began to analyze: "The opponent is a second-tier team. Not only did we break the deadlock first, but we also allowed them to equalize the score at the last moment of the first half!
We have done very well!”
Captain Pablo nodded and said: "Yes, now we are just equalized by the opponent. I find that our morale is actually having problems. This shouldn't be the case.
This shows that we have not positioned ourselves correctly. We are a D-level team and we are here to attack them!
Although Alcorcón is in the middle and lower reaches of the second-division team, they are still a second-division team. How many levels are we different from them?"
The players looked at each other and said, yes, our mentality is wrong. As a weak side, we are not behind in the score.
Why be depressed?
The other person should be the one who is frustrated!
Pablo continued: “Why is our mentality so inflated?
We were able to tie the opponent in the first half, which is something to be proud of for us!”
The captain conducted soul torture.
Goalkeeper Miguel nodded and said: "The captain is right, we must play every game as the last game!"
Liag further said: "Yes, treat every game as a final! Therefore, we should not have morale problems. We should have high morale under any circumstances and under any score!"
Every game is played as a final.
Everyone raised their eyebrows and their eyes brightened, these words...make sense...
"well said!"
Coach Antonio said loudly: "Yes! For us, every game in the Copa del Rey is a final!"