AE Prat versus Hercules: live recap
Hercules faced the opening test on the artificial turf with a clear aim: to quiet any lingering doubts. The team rolled out eleven fresh ideas, reshaping the frontline and the approach to attack. Ángel Rodríguez moved Eimil to the left to cover for the injured Felipe, enlisted the muscle of César Moreno alongside Maxi, and finally started the pairing of Alvarito and Jack in forward roles. The search for offensive solutions was evolving in real time.
El Prat began with a pragmatic awareness of its limits and a plan to maximize the moment. Before long the first goal arrived for Hercules, a strategic sequence that shifted the balance in the early stages. Dylan Leiva advanced from midfield to the heart of the action, crossing into Alicante for a home debut with the center back contributing once again with a goal. The locals reacted with urgency, yet the offside flag halted their momentum. Still, the prevailing sense was that Ángel Rodríguez’s squad controlled the tempo, stifling most of the visitors’ advances. Jack even found the back of the net in a one on one duel ultimately won by Craviotto in goal.
This is how we told you about AE Prat – Hercules live
Gonzalo Blanes
Buildings dominated the scene in the latter moments, yet the fortress of Hercules’s defense remained intact. Work in the middle third became the main feature, with the action largely devoid of clear routes to goal. It was a tense contest where the scoreboard pressure amplified the intensity of the play. To counter the pressing assault, Ángel Rodríguez called for fresh legs, bringing on Villacañas and Sergio Marcos to provide oxygen and renewed counterattacking options.
Carlos Abad produced a crucial save on a one on one with Albert Martí, a moment that underscored Alicante’s vulnerability and the visitors’ better organization. The match swung decisively as the visitors found a second goal when Alvarito saved Craviotto but Víctor Villacañas tucked the ball into the net. The second strike dealt a blow to El Prat, and the late push from the home side could not turn the tide. The result felt well earned for the Blues and Whites, who delivered their most solid performance of the campaign to date and established themselves as a reliable unit at both ends of the pitch.
Hercules again faced the course’s early test on the artificial surface and rose to the occasion with a tactical plan that kept the defense compact and the attack purposeful. The lineup adjustments provided scares for a Prat side that searched for rhythm but found it difficult to sustain pressure for long spells. The visitors returned to the dressing room believing they could seize a positive outcome, and the half ended with a sense that both teams had shown glimpses of quality even as the scoreline told a different story.
How the match unfolded stage by stage
The beginning was marked by a calculated approach from the visitors, who pressed high and tried to disrupt Hercules’s initial build from the back. Hercules answered with a disciplined structure, relying on compact lines and quick transitions to pin the home side back whenever possible. The first breakthrough arrived when Leiva pierced through the defense and found space inside the box to finish decisively, catching the defenders by surprise and prompting a quick reaction from the crowd. The subsequent reply from El Prat was measured but failed to translate into a sustained threat as Hercules tightened the screws in midfield.
With both teams trading blows in a tense middle block, the match began to tilt in favor of the visitors. The realization that the home team needed to chase the game became evident as the clock moved into the final third. The visitors capitalized with a second goal that arrived through a composed finish after a well-worked buildup on the right flank. The away side celebrated with restraint, understanding the narrow margins that define such matches. El Prat still searched for a breakthrough that would alter the narrative, but the well-drilled defense of Hercules repelled the late advances.
As the game wore on, substitutions shifted the balance of energy. Villacañas and Sergio Marcos injected pace and renewal into the attack, while the defense held firm under pressure. The decisive moment came when a momentary lapse was capitalized upon by the away team, sealing the result that many had anticipated. Despite El Prat’s efforts to find a lifeline, the final whistle confirmed a deserved victory for Hercules, whose performance impressed with its organization, discipline, and effective execution in both zones of the pitch.