What promised to be a day of joy, for once, did not unfold that way. In the Elche CF locker room, coach Sebastian Beccacece, born December 17, 1980 in Rosario, Argentina, was greeted with birthday wishes from players, staff, and the club, yet the anticipated celebration remained out of reach. The Franjiverde squad had shown ambition heading into the final stretch, believing two recent results could unlock a playoff surge. A 1-2 defeat to Cartagena and a 3-2 loss at Real Oviedo left the team pondering their chances to climb into playoff positions and close the gap to the second-placed Valladolid, which would secure a direct route to the First Division.
Elche falls into the same rock again and loses in Oviedo (3-2)
In the dressing room, confidence ran high after a pair of wins anew, yet the team dashed those hopes on the road. The setback left Elche eleventh in the table, level on points with Burgos and Oviedo at 29, still within touching distance of promotion spots though the path remained narrow as the schedule moved on and opponents kept turning the fixtures into a meticulous test of nerve.
It was a heavy blow for Beccacece and the Franjiverde faithful. The birthday wish lingered as a quiet reminder that celebrations depend on performance on the grass rather than in the chat of messages and candles.
The team endured back-to-back defeats, a rare stretch that hadn’t appeared since the opening rounds when losses to Racing de Ferrol and Eibar stung. A subsequent run included four losses across matches with Villarreal B, Racing de Santander, Valladolid, and Leganés. After a rough spell, Elche found some rhythm with a 4-0 win over Burgos and a goalless draw against Raise, followed by a 2-0 defeat to Gijón. The coach faced questions about his tenure as the club navigated a delicate period.
Hope arrived when the squad found momentum, producing six points from four fixtures: a 1-0 win over Andorra, a 0-1 victory at Huesca, a 2-1 win against Tenerife and a 2-0 triumph over Zaragoza, coupled with draws against Eldense and Albacete. The improvement suggested the squad could still steer toward the upper echelons of the table if the form held steady and consistency returned.
Elche’s transformation after the Beccacece threat
In the weeks that followed, Elche’s form shifted considerably. A visit to Cornellà-El Prat to face Espanyol produced a solid 2-0 win, a sign the Franjiverde unit could regain its footing. The team then extended victories against Amorebieta and Alcorcón, reinforcing belief that a durable run was possible even as the calendar moved toward the midpoint of the campaign.
Everything looked aligned as the club aimed to complete the first lap in the upper division and begin the second round with confidence. Yet a stumble against Cartagena and another setback in Oviedo reintroduced the fragility in the approach and risked stalling the revival.
Defensive fragility affects Elche
As Beccacece celebrated his 43rd birthday, the focus sharpened on realigning the team’s trajectory. The next match against Mirandés at the Martinez Valero was anticipated as a critical test, with the calendar pointing toward January and the start of the second round, when the competition would deepen its demands and the squad would need to sustain performance through the new year.