The competition gave Hercules an extra ball with Manresa’s defeat to Prat, but taking advantage of it meant an inexcusable win at Zaragoza. After serving his sentence, Lolo Escobar decided to protect the midfield, joining Riera in defense and Jean Paul in offense, as well as Maxi and César Moreno. Míchel Herrero remained on the bench. In front of an underrated branch, with quality players but bad dynamics and in a perfect environment to play football as well as being cold.
The bet started with rhythm, an untimely yellow card for Mario and too much wind making ball control difficult. Gradually the game was leveling down with too much control density away from the fields and in the middle of the field. Hercules’ attacks died in the last aid, the last meters lacked freshness and quality. Aragón wasn’t overly worried either, with auction bidders and a dominance that didn’t create distrust for the guest defence. Alvarito had a clear first choice, but his cross shot grazed the post. All-in-all, Jean Paul finished high in the most obvious case. Hercules forgave his opponent, and thus was interrupted by everything to be resolved.
The crossbar blocked the goal from a spectacular header by Riera, who came back as a striker from the set pieces. Lolo Escobar’s men have already deserved the goal award for football and events. The reserve team responded with a shot from Satur, who was safely rescued by Carlos Abad. The draw was worthless to both opponents and this resulted in the game opening with less defensive measures in the second half. It was a matter of doing it right and finding an effective offensive solution. There was no lack of discussion in a goal that the locals did not allow due to offside.
The final stage of the conflict faced everything to decide. Lolo decided to bring in Eimil for Artiles and advance Raúl Ruiz’s position. A change that clearly shows the lack of offensive solutions from the bench. And with a strategic action came the local target, punishing the ineffectiveness of the people of Alicante. The coach tried to react by introducing the Ander Vitoria and Sergio Marcos “sections”. A desperate solution was sought and purpose found. The draw was provided at a discount by Eimil after a good assist from Jean Paul. A meager spot with little taste but the people of Alicante did not deserve defeat.