A century of games already

100 games as shareholders

Its hard to believe but this weekends victory over Celta B was the 100^th competitive game for Real Oviedo since we became shareholders of this wonderful club. To quote a cliché, it barely seems five minutes ago we were all glued to our computer screens watching the very first of those games – The famous 1-0 victory over Real Madrid C on the 11^th November 2012.

We thought the figure warranted us looking back at some of the memories of those 100 games both good and bad as well as some statistics from the games.

There are of course many to choose from and it would probably be fair to say the majority of best things are from this season, but it would be wrong to dismiss achievements prior to this season. There have of course been many cracking goals, fine away wins, packed stadiums and thrashings as well as some disappointing moments. No better place to start than that first game mentioned earlier when Javi Cacares scuffed finish in front of over 21,000 fans in the stadium and many more watching their new club online for the very first time all over the world. I remember thinking to myself; this atmosphere is unreal for a third division game. Fans going wild, passion, firecrackers and flairs. It was clear to see what winning that game meant and the passion has gone from strength to strength ever since. At one point during that first season for us shareholders ( 2012/13 ) it really looked like we could at one point win the division but an indifferent March and April nearly cost us a place in the play off’s altogether. However winning 3 games in May resulted in us finishing third at the end of the season.             This took us into the end of season play off system and first up was a meeting with Albacete with this first leg at home in the Carlos Tartiere. It was a nervous tight game settled by a wonder goal from the now derided Hector Simon, volleying in from outside the area. The second leg was just as nerve-racking with us losing 2-1 but going through on away goals. Next up was current La Liga side Eibar and this proved to be one step too far as Eibar beat us home and away. Things seemed to be looking good in the first leg at the Carlos Tartiere when we led 1-0 at half time but Eibar came back strong in the second half to win 2-1 followed by a 1-0 victory over us in the Basque country to condemn us to another season in the Segunda B.

The next season of course would be our first full season as shareholders and there was much excitement and expectancy ahead of this season. Things started well at the beginning with 10 points out of a possible 12 but things soon started falling apart with an inability for virtually the entire remainder of the season to string more than 2 consecutive wins together. Inconsistency really took over and Granero was shown the door before the end of the season was through. Oviedo were facing an uphill battle even to finish in the top four and after a disastrous 4-1 home defeat to Gijon B we failed to make the play offs and the season ended in massive disappointment.

The club turned to Sergio Egea at the start of this season and made it clear exactly what was to be the mission this time round – Promotion. In came club legend Esteban to be our goalkeeper as well as other more high profile players with experience in La Liga and the Segunda division such as Jonathan Vila, Hector Font, Generelo, Linares and several more. This season so far as been head and shoulders above the previous ones, certainly as regards the football played and results, There has been some excellent performances with some massive wins, both home and away and as I write we are in an excellent position and hopefully we can finish the job off and gain promotion.

As promised some stats from the 100 games. We have won just over half the games with 51 wins. We have drawn 25 games with 24 losses.

Out of the 51 wins 30 have come at the Carlos Tartiere with 21 wins on the road.

We have scored 158 goals in the 100 games and conceded 94.

These stats have drastically improved thanks to our performance this season as 21 of the 51 victories have come this season, as have an amazing 67 of the goals.

Im sure we all have our favourite goals, games or moments from the 100 games but here are a few of mine in no particular order

Goals:

1. The Javi Cacares goal in the very first match against Real Madrid C. Who could forget this goal. It decided a very tense match and despite not being a world class strike, it certainly meant the world to Oviedo fans.
2. Pardo’s wonder strike against UD Logrones last season. Its fair to say the Carlos Tartiere faithful didn’t have much to get too excited about during the 2013/14 season. Pardo’s strike was a brief moment of magic.
3. I will raise a few eyebrow’s with this one but Hector Simon’s blockbuster against Albacete in the 2012/13 play offs really got Oviedo fans to believe we could get promoted. It was the highlight of Simon’s rather disappointing Oviedo career but remains the only winning play off goal we have seen as shareholders ( Until the end of this season I hope )
4. Another Hector, this time Font. This is my personal favourite goal. His assist for Linares strike on the opening day of the season followed by the finish by Linares wouldn’t have looked out of place had it been scored at the Nou Camp or the Bernabeu and certainly was the start to the season we all craved. The fact it came against Gijon B was just the icing on the cake.
5. Ive gone for another surprise one here. Omgba’s magnificent strike from this season at home to Valladolid B when he received the ball into his chest with his back to goal before swivelling and rifling in a volley low into the bottom corner. A wonderfully technical strike.
6. Finally ive had to put Susaeta in there. His favourite goal for me came in the away game at Sporting B last season and despite it being in a match we lost, it was a terrific strike, curling into the top corner left footed.

Games:

1. The first game that springs to mind is of course the very first game we      watched. That now famous 1-0 victory over Real Madrid C. We were unsure at the time whether the club would survive and it was a tense time. It showed the fighting spirit of the club and over 21,000 fans turned up for that game.
2. Probably the best performance came this season when we beat Real Murcia 4-1. It was as much a statement of intent as much as anything else, beating our nearest rivals. In previous seasons we have failed to do that after failing to beat either Tenerife or Racing in the previous seasons. This though was a real hammering we handed out to Murcia.
3. The opening day of this season also springs to mind when we beat Sporting B 3-1 with a fantastic display of attacking attractive football that really got the fans believing even on day one, this could be the year.
4. This season saw us progress in the Copa del Rey and after wins over Amorebieta and UCAM Murcia we were handed a two-legged tie with La Liga outfit Real Sociedad. Our home game with them was a real barrier as to how far we have come and despite not winning the match we held them to a 0-0 draw but we did more than that as over the 90 minutes a draw was the very least we deserved as we stood toe to toe with them. A real proud moment to see us mixing it with the big boys live on national television.
5. Another match that sticks in the memory and again it came this season was the 4-0 home win over Guijuelo. It was seen at the time as our first real test of this season back in September and we absolutely blew them away with one of the most one sided matches your likely to see. It was a real marker down to the other teams that we are the real deal this time around.

Players:

1. The first player that springs to mind here is Diego Cervero, he was the first player that many international fans could see as he was the player scoring most of the goals when we started watching the club and is seen as something of a local hero. Something all football fans can relate to.
2. Esteban is a player from this season that despite at times not being that busy, his experience and know how is vital and he has installed confidence in the players in front of him. His knowledge and experience has been vital and will be vital over the coming months.
3. Linares must get a special mention as he has been on fire this season scoring well over 20 goals and is quite simply the best performer we have had at goal scoring since we became shareholders. His goals this season have come in all shapes and sizes and we are hopeful they will fire us to promotion.
4. Nestor Susaeta was a player signed by Jose Carlos Granero ( He did something right ) and seemed low on confidence when we first signed him. Like there was pressure on him, but Roberto Robles and latterly Sergio Egea have got him playing superbly well. He is top of the tree for assists and scores his fair share of goals too. A player that makes things happen.
5. My fifth choice may surprise some people but David Fernandez has been with the club for a while now and before this season was not everyone’s cup of tea. This season however he has in my opinion been superb. This maybe down to the Esteban factor I mentioned earlier but he seems far more confident, is strong in the air, comfortable with the ball at his feet and is strong in the tackle. A much improved and underrated player.

Im sure you will all agree its been an amazing journey over these 100 games and we will follow the club for many more hundreds of games and hundreds more memories. Its been an amazing journey that we have all been part of. A special thanks has to go to Sid Lowe as none of this would have been possible without him. The best reward for all of us would be promotion at the end of the season. That would simply be the best memory of this incredible journey yet.