The headline grabbers in this surprise 0-1 win at Ponferradina were Ayoze with his third goal of the season and Roberto with a mature, confident display in goal but maybe the biggest praise should go to coach Alvaro Cervera.
The boss was bold and brave in dropping club legend Sergio Aragoneses and giving a Segunda league debut to 22 year old Roberto from Icod as well as starting with Raul Camara and Salva Ruiz in the full back slots and Rivero starting in midfield. All his decisions were vindicated and we know he would have been slaughtered if it had all backfired.
The defence looked strong, the midfield productive, and Ayoze, our 20 year old from San Andres continued to grow in stature. Roberto was a star from his first big test, a 20th minute corner save from Fofo, to his late push onto the post to preserve the first away clean sheet and win of the season. Carlos Ruiz gave Aridane a good opening but he put it wide, then a small slip by Ruiz was expertly mopped up by Roberto. Ayoze could well have grabbed a lead just before the break, his strike was judged offside, but it was a very close call.
The reward for cool heads came after 58 minutes as Ayoze showed his star quality with a well taken piece of individual skill. Of course there was a fight back from Ponferradina but Roberto showed character to deny the home team with three more confident saves. The value of this win can’t be overestimated, it offers hope and shows the team can win on their travels – and hey there were no silly red cards this week. Deportivo come calling on Saturday night, kick off 7pm, now let’s put that home form back on track.