SD Huesca are held to a draw one more weekend, but this time it has been bitter than usual, given the circumstances and what has been seen on the pitch. The Azulgranas were able to do the hardest thing, as they managed to level matters and to stand up thanks to a spectacular bicycle kick of our captain. However, although Oviedo were a man short since the hour-mark, Ziganda’s side could not make the most of it at El Alcoraz, where they extended their unbeaten record in this season to 11 games.
Ziganda went with the same squad as in the previous encounter, except for Carrillo, who started this time up top. An outstretched Andrés denied the visitors only after five minutes. The keeper took it and Huesca reacted by means of Juan Carlos, who powered a shot next to the post. Right after that, Joaquín tried to steady the nerves with a driving run, but could not finish off properly, and Carrillo’s scissor kick after the clearance went wide. In the end-to-end encounter it has become, neither side was causing many uneasy moments for goalkeepers, but the referee pointed to the spot following Pulido’s coming together with the striker. Lein didn’t miss and he impudently dinked the penalty home. The Altoaragoneses’ reaction was imminent and superb: A clever ball into the area for Pulido to deposit a brilliant low finish past Quentin Braat with an acrobatic scissor kick and to make the crowd erupt when it bounced into the net.
Spurred by the goal, Ziganda’s men intensified the pressure after the break. Joaquín hit the post with a header after a counter-attack he had launched himself. Our no.11 suffered a foul and, following the VAR intervention to the tackle, Luismi saw the punishment upgraded from a yellow card to a red, as Oviedo were reduced to ten men. In order to take advantage from that fact, Cuco Ziganda decided to bring in Juan Villar, Óscar Sielva and Vilarrasa for Carrillo, Kento and Florian. Afterwards, Escriche and Soko replaced Gerard Valentín and Joaquín. Despite that, the hosts didn’t manage to feel comfortable and a fast and furious last minutes made a comeback impossible.
