This is the biggest problem faced in the second round of the competition. Hércules, which is in second place in the third group of the Second Federation, will face the following match on the first day of next year: possibility of becoming winter championAlthough he had to beat his direct rival to achieve this, he could not achieve this this season.
The Alicante team will visit Lleida on January 7 (17:00) and will lead with two points, so in case of victory the team from Herculaneum will regain first place and be declared the best of the first round. We achieved this two years ago with Sergio Mora on the bench.
However, the team led by Rubén Torrecilla, despite their good dynamics, This season they have not beaten any of the teams currently in the promotion spots.
Hércules suffered their first defeat of the season against Sant Andreu (3-1), currently in fifth place, while they also lost third place (1-0) in their visit to Europa. This Sunday at the Rico Pérez stadium, they could not beat the fourth Badalona (2-2), which they drew after twice overcoming the negative score.
The problems in duels with teams in the upper region stem from last year, when Hércules managed to win only two of the ten matches it played. Beating Lleida is very important, especially for the team’s confidence to face a very direct opponent in the second round, knowing that they can deal with them. It will not be a decisive match because there are still 17 more games to be played but this could create a moral line for both teams.
The blue-white team started their Christmas break on Monday and will return to training to prepare for the match against Lleida on December 27.
The players of the Herculano team will train under the command of Rubén Torrecilla on 27, 28 and 29 December and will enjoy a mini holiday again starting from the 30th.
After a three-day break, the teams will return to normal on January 2 and will start preparing for the first match of the year on this date. The leadership of the group and the winter championship are at stake.
In Hércules’ spectacular first round they faced a surprising Lleida, who secured all the points in their home stadium and dominated the division despite the defeat against Europa, one of the highlights of the season. It didn’t disappear either. The Catalan team will not be able to rely on one of their best players, Neyder Lozano, who received his fifth yellow card on the last day in the Hércules match. An important loss for the Catalans in a match that will raise great expectations between the two best teams of the first round of the third group match.