Never accuse CD Marino of being shy, they were straining at the leash for goals this week, a 5-1 home derby win over Las Zocas was richly deserved for showing attacking flair and that killer instinct that was missing in the last two home draws.
It was a sign of the home dominance that Marko Cicovic was a spectator until Ibra gave him a little tester of a shot after 20 minutes. The reds from just up the road were pinned down in the first half by long deep balls down the wings for Fran Alonso and Amed to run onto. It was a change of tactics that worked well, the back up goalie David looked unsure and his jitters spread to the defence. Kevin Castro strode around picking his moments to turn on the pace and run at the Las Zocas defenders.
Amed and Kevin Castro were so close to exposing the goalie after a neat bit of passing, Las Zocas had a few moments, Esau and Ibra worked hard to create any openings but the finishing let them down. Former home player Jonathan Sesma sat injured in the stand and must have been itching to try to unlock his old team mates. The game didn’t lack passion, plenty of hard tackles and fierce tussles for loose balls but ref Marta let the game flow as much as possible.
It seemed like Marino would have to wait until the second half to open the scoring but a sustained attack at the end of the first half saw the ball trapped in a sea of legs in the Las Zocas penalty area, it came loose and Amed pounced on it and powered it into the back of the net. The break didn’t cool Marino’s enthusiasm, they came back out looking to add to their advantage. Kevin Castro used his close control to round a defender on the goal line and popped the ball back to Amed for an easy finish, 2-0 had a much better ring to it. Amed was cursing his finishing when the chance of a hat trick eluded him but it was clear this game would be graced by more goals.
How demoralizing for Las Zocas to see Adan come off the bench for Fau Valiente, if there were goals to be had, the big striker would want his share. With an hour gone Amed jumped for a high cross but it dropped just behind him where Mendy powered an unstoppable header past the goalie. To their credit Las Zocas didn’t give up, they pushed forward looking for a way back, Esau made Coly clear his shot from the line. Amed was subbed by Josemi, the applause as he departed was well deserved for a disciplined performance in a slightly different role from usual.
Las Zocas tried their own change and it had some effect, Bene Aro got into a good position to receive a through ball and put his shot beyond the reach of Cicovic as he dived. That could have been a springboard to a Las Zocas charge, Marino reacted well, they tightened up at the back and went in search of more goals at the other end. It was almost slow motion as Adan eased past the rooted red defenders and picked his spot in the goal. As the game moved towards its finish Adan struck again after beating his lone marker, even in injury time he was so close to a third but the 5-1 score line threw down a big marker in the battle for promotion. There’s a three point gap now between Marino and joint leaders Las Palmas Atletico and Marino mean business.