Hercules CF: season arc, standings, and player impact
The team cannot rise without increasing production. Hercules must refine its target projections to climb the table, outpace direct rivals, or gain an edge if a tie looms. The Alicante club faced a tough run in the playoffs, defeating Espanyol B, Formentera, and Manresa, then winning against Zaragoza B and Saguntino, before a setback against Terrassa. In the league in Alicante, a 3-1 loss marked their round-one result.
When matches end in a draw, the tie is decided by the overall coefficient of goals for and against. Among the clubs contending for a jump in the standings, Alicante stands alone with a negative tally in this crucial metric. The overall picture remains challenging; if nothing changes by the final day, blue and white supporters could see the tie-breaking scenarios decide their fate, as coaches and staff have warned.
5 PLAYERS
Scored more than one goal
►This season, 11 players have found the back of the net for Hercules, with Villacañas and Leyva no longer in the squad. Only four of those scorers have tallied more than one goal.
9 MATCHES
Alvarito still without a goal
►The club’s top scorer with six goals has not found the net since January 22, though two further goals from Riera and Míchel have kept the scoring column moving, leaving Harper and Ander Vitoria among the other notable contributors with limited goals.
6 VERY VERY
during the second round
►Hercules has played ten matches in the second stage, failing to score in half of them and winning four by the narrowest margins, 1-0 or 0-1.
-5 GOALS
worse than last season
►Sergio Mora’s side has conceded 31 goals while scoring 24, marking a difficult season for the attack and a relatively soft defense that still leaves points on the table.
6 MATCHES
Unmarked in the Lolo era
►Escobar has led Hercules through 14 matches since his arrival, with four losses and two draws alongside a series of non-scoring spells that dented momentum.
It is time to push forward. Angel Rodríguez was sent off on matchday 13 with an average of -6; Lolo Escobar, fourteen weeks later, sits at -4. If the slump persists, draws could cost valuable points, and the club might enter the last days needing a decisive victory to avoid relegation threats. Deportivo Aragón was beaten 3-1, with Saguntino slipping 2-3 in another tight contest.
The remarkable comeback at Camp Nou de Morvedre on January 8, right after the holidays, remains the last time Hercules scored more than two goals in a single day. Since then, the attack has gone quiet, with five of ten second-round matches producing no goals, and several games decided by minimal margins or clean sheets against the blue-and-white side.
Alvarito stands as the lone blue-and-white player among the top 15 scorers in the Third Group of the Second RFEF.
Unmarked play resumed after a pause, with a string of defeats against Espanyol B, Teruel, Mestalla, and Peña Deportiva. The Extremadura coach has now overseen fourteen Hercules fixtures, six without a win, underscoring a project that must win three key matches while limiting opponents’ scoring threats to avoid falling further behind the pack.
GOALS OF HERCULES CF 2022-23
- Alvarito 6
- Michel Herrero 4
- Roger Riera 4
- John Paul 3
- Jack Harper 2
- Chacartegui 1
- Cesar Moreno 1
- Tuscany 1
- Articles 1
- Dylan Leiva 1
- Villacañas 1
- Mura (CD Ibiza) 1 (own goal)
Goal scoring has become scarce, yet the club has optimized its production. Four of the six victories since Ángel Rodríguez’s replacement have been narrow wins, 1-0 or 0-1. The attack has shown flashes, but a prolonged drought has constrained momentum. The last two months have seen few goals celebrated, with John Paul responsible for the most dangerous moments in the games that finally produced chances and attempts.
The pure forward who led Hercules in goals this season was Jean Paul under 23, who started contributing from the 14th match day onward. Michel Herrero also contributed with a direct free kick near the Formentera zone on the Rico Pérez field. Current Hercules records remain below the standards set under Sergio Mora, a fact that is now part of the debate around coaching choices. Despite the struggles, Mora’s tenure saw five more goals added by the team, and only one of the 11 scorers broke the four-goal barrier, with Alvarito delivering six. The Valencian forward remains the club’s most productive player among the top 15 scorers. Keeping clean sheets is valuable, but without a sustained scoring threat, wins become rare and risks rise across the board.