Score goals and avoid them. It is very easy to say (or write) and very difficult to do. These are the two most valuable roles on any football team. Eleven players work for both companies, but two are the main players responsible for running them: the goalkeeper (avoid them) and the striker (mark them). In football of the past, the numbers “1” and “9” are assigned to each position.
This season, these two numbers already have an owner in Hercules. The “1” is for Carlos Abad, a goalkeeper who has been playing everything since pre-season and who should be the main defensive base in Ángel Rodríguez’s endless search for zero in his own goal, guaranteeing at least one point. As soon as the rest of his teammates were successful in the opposing region, the loot would triple.
Carlos Abad (27 years old) arrives in Alicante after centennial with the intention of being reborn at the hands of a team seeking the same. At Tenerife (17 official games in four seasons), three credits, relegation to Córdoba in his most professional season (28 league games, 49 conceded goals), after a difficult year in the Second Division B. The Canarian goalkeeper, who was on the bench for Deportivo and Atlético Baleares, now feels like Hércules’ “number 1”.
These lines emerge as a result of the team’s unique preparation and the good image Carlos Abad has left in this preparation phase. Everything is praise right now. During the injury period of his last duel against Alcoyano, he conceded just one goal in four friendlies. A few minutes later, he retaliated in a penalty shootout by stopping the decisive maximum penalty that awarded his team the Ciutat d’Alcoi trophy.
Not going to Luceros, Hercules starts to win. And the goalkeeper starts with the confidence any goal needs, seeing the minutes go by without conceding a goal. This good first impression will have to be confirmed in the official season, but right now Carlos Abad is conveying positive emotions. At the same time, Castilla, led by Zidane, caused him to look at his qualifications to request a two-year loan to Tenerife. From 1.93m onwards, Abad should be able to control his territory, dominate the defensive airplay with the central defenders, and perhaps the most complex thing, be decisive. Theoretically, Hercules should be a dominant team in the Second RFEF and create several scoring chances. Therefore, you need a goalkeeper who is ready to participate very little, but these actions are decisive.
On the other side of the pitch, this season the “9” of Hercules will be worn by Jack Harper, a somewhat wandering Scotsman who has been very well behaved during his time as a youth team for Malaga. Football’s ups and downs are not over yet. At 26, it’s clear that the times of promise are far away and it’s time to prove your worth.
To do so, Harper once again dropped a notch in terms of category. After beating Malaga, Alcorcón and Cartagena in the Second Division, he landed in Second B for half a year with Villarreal B’s subsidiary. His next step was in the RFEF First with Racing de Santander last season, on the full course. He smiled at the group level (promotion), but not individually (17 games and 2 goals). Now it’s time to take another step back to gain momentum in theory.
Like his teammate Carlos Abad, Jack Harper was decisive in Friday’s friendly match against Alcoyano. He forced and scored a penalty that marked his debut as a Herculaneum striker. The target did not come through the game as he collapsed at the last minute while he was ready to beat himself against the opposing goalkeeper. Then he was in the same situation from eleven meters. His left foot shot was predicted by his opponent, but he couldn’t stop it.
Harper hopes to regain the smile she wore at the beginning of 2018/19 not so long ago when she became one of Malaga’s sensations in the silver category. He scored four goals in the first round but stayed there. In fact, this is still his hat. To overcome this, to be able to expand, this course is called. Carlos and Jack are the “1” and “9” of Hercules this season. Part of a promotion depends on their performance.