Much to the crowd’s delight, El Alcoraz experienced a well-deserved party. It was a complete success, hitting four and keeping a clean sheet against a combative CD Mirandés who were condemned to a 4-0 defeat thanks to SD Huesca’s outstanding second half in LaLiga SmartBank matchday 26. Goals from Escriche, who scored the opener by means of a flawless header; Gerard Valentín, who made his debut today; Seoane, adding a ninth goal to his tally; and finally, Darío Poveda, who took a penalty, gave the stadium the happy ending they had been eager to for so long. It’s time now to build momentum and start strong against Real Oviedo away next Sunday.
We saw an even first half, where both teams had their chances, but were unable to carve out a clear one to open the scoring. Although the Azulgranas took the initiative, the visitors proved to be able to create dangerous moments in rival field. After a series of attempts in both boxes, the clearest fell to Escriche. It was the 28th, following a cross from Seoane, and our no.10 controlled the ball and shot on the turn very close to Lizoain. The shotstopper parried away the 1-0 with his body. Until the break, Hassan, Camello or Brugué continued approaching Andrés Fernández’s goal, but never posed a real threat. Right before the referee blew the half-time whistle, Valentín had an effort inside the opposition’s box, where a penalty could have been awarded.
Huesca went a step further in the second 45, despite the bad news, as Jorge Pulido had to be replaced by Ignasi Miquel due to injury problems. After Poveda entered the pitch for Joaquín, Escriche put the hosts ahead in the 60th. It was an inch-perfect cross from Marc Mateu on the left wing for the striker, who headed in effortlessly. This was the start to a flurry of goals: in the 69th, Gerard Valentín cleverly robbed the ball in the opponent’s half, drove it to the box and subtly rifled a thumping effort past Mirandés keeper, signing his dream debut. In the 77th, Seoane secured the three points after a pass by Marc Mateu. Five minutes before the 90th, a stunning effort from Poveda led to a penalty, which he took and scored, opening his tally in a Huesca shirt. The Oscenses could hit the fifth in the 88th by means of Escriche, with a thumping shot pawed away by Lizoain that hit the crossbar. Later, Poveda had a goal ruled out. El Alcoraz gave a round of applause after the final whistle. This is exactly the clash the stadium and the fans deserved.
