Fear of a Mestalla awakens the best Hercules of the field

Hercules adds his seventh victory of the season, allowing Europa to enjoy the time change with the peace of mind that he has overcome his bad experience; a monumental victory that allowed him to churn out freshly toasted bread for breakfast at unforgettable hours. On Sunday, being the leader who leads him to the first sunset of autumn with the competence that gives you a strong sense of duty before Lleida falls under pressure, takes control of this privileged position.

Beyond today’s result at the Camp d’Esports, Rubén Torrecilla’s team showed that it has the courage not to get caught up in the torment of a sticky past that forces us to suffer, to experience everything with extreme urgency. too much, turning every outcome into a plebiscite, an autopsy, a chronic all-or-nothing situation.

The blue-white coach made four changes in the first squad. He broke the defensive line for the first time, cleared Josema from the back and introduced Rayan Nolan; He completely dismantled the double pivot that had caused shipwreck in the Gràcia neighborhood and gave Colominas the responsibility of balancing the game; Artiles and De la Nava created a 4-3-3 containment (to offset the high pressure) and 4-5-1 to dominate the midfield in attacking action and force Mestalla to defend more than attack as the former became much worse than the latter It brings, a lot.

In the only possession touched by the Valencians at the start, a throw-in and a slight error allowed Miguel Ángel Angulo’s block to seek out Candelas’ back and deliver a long, precise shot with a sudden change of direction. Striker Taronja Marco Camus scored his fifth goal of the season with a diagonal kick in the race where Carlos Abad could do nothing: 1-0.

Exactly ten minutes later Hercules again fell behind at Paterna. Wherever they come from, the people of Alicante would be stricken with the fateful memory of what they experienced in Barcelona a few days ago, with the premature failure tainting the memory of the fans. They would allow themselves to be haunted by the bad omen, due to the proverbial fatalism of a shield with little reason to shine.

But last night no. Last night they turned that single discord into a mistake, an isolated mistake, and continued to do their job without blinking, without noticing the whiplash. They took possession of the ball, surrounded the opponent’s field and created clear goal opportunities. First Mendes wastes a warning; Nico then waved his right hand nervously towards the crossbar; then Candelas throws the death pass to Ketu, which he misses with a nail… He advances steadily, overwhelming the Valencia defence, forcing him to retreat until, after a poorly executed corner kick and worse cleared, Artiles receives the ball and Juanmi has a better shot than anyone else. The greedy inside of his foot brings the ball back into the area with a delicious bend that makes it 1-1 before the end of the first half.

Nothing Angulo ordered during the break had a chance of working. Nothing. None. Hercules returned from the dressing room determined to win and take home the three points. Control inside and out was absolute, with De la Nava and Artiles directing the final pass, closing Colomina’s gaps and Nico Espinosa reuniting with the impudent footballer who dared to rival Abde in the noble art of evading opponents.

It was only a matter of time before Nil Ruiz was calm enough to take advantage of one of the many corridors built on the field and send the ball towards the goal. The reward for a tremendous exercise of tact, responsibility and fortitude came half an hour from the end. Roger Colominas wins duel after duel, collects the split ball, looks up and watches as De la Nava is released inside the area.

A soft, accurate, rainy blow and the second striker, who waits with the necessary pause, almost without letting it fall, is impaled. It bounced off the leather post and sneaked through the short gap between the board and the goalkeeper’s boot: 1-2 and 25 minutes ahead he regained the lead and on the same journey regained confidence and belief in an idea. a working model that makes steady progress despite timid ups and downs.