Real Oviedo 1 Caudal 1

Real Oviedo fail to qualify for play offs

Another season in Segunda B awaits

Real Oviedo’s season came to an end at the Carlos Tartiere after a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Caudal Deportivo. As it turned out results elsewhere meant even a win would not have been enough as we drew our final league game of the 2013/14 season.

There was a sparse crowd of just over 4,500 in the stadium, a lot seemed to have given up on the chance we could sneak into the play off’s after last week’s debacle.

Coach Roberto Robles rung the changes with 4 in total from last week. Sergio Garcia was injured so his place meant a recall for Diego Cervero. Pardo returned from his suspension to take the place of Javi Hernandez. Alvaro came back in for David Alba. The final change was in the centre of midfield with Hector Simon dropping to the bench for Ivan Rubio.

A strange atmosphere met the players as the game got underway. The game almost from the first minute had an end of season feel to it, despite the fact both teams were desperate for the points for different reasons.

The visitors were first to threaten when Samuel curled in a free kick for Nacho Fernandez to head goal wards but Pol saved well to prevent the ball going in the top corner. Just a minute later and Oviedo could have taken the lead when Ivan Rubio fed Cervero through the middle but the Doc screwed his shot wide of the far post.

On 20 minutes Alvaro had a good chance from a Susaeta corner but his header was straight at Bielsa in the Caudal goal.

It didn’t take long though for the crowd to start getting frustrated and the game was becoming scrappier as the half went on. Sene and Ivan Rubio both had half chances but neither side seemed able to carve out any further clear-cut chances as the half drew to a close. The best effort was from Nacho Matador 2 minutes before the interval but his 30-yard effort was inches over the bar. The half time whistle sounded to bring a disappointing 45 minutes to a close.

3 minutes into the second half and things got worse. Neat play from Caudal down the left resulted in Richard out muscling Jon Erice in the right back position before laying the ball across goal for Abraham to slot home. The already quiet Carlos Tartiere was plunged into silence. The visitors couldn’t hold onto their lead though and within 2 minutes Oviedo drew level. Susuata whipped in a trademark free kick and there was Cervero to nod home. Unfortunately almost simultaneously Racing Ferrol had scored their winning goal in the 94^th minute of their game, which  meant that Real Oviedo could now only finish as high as fifth place in the table regardless of the outcome of this game. This meant we have therefore missed out on the end of season promotion play off’s. This was reflected in the crowd’s resigned mood for the remainder of the game.

As the half went on, both sides were pushing forward looking for a winner. Caudal substitute Jorge thought he had scored when his left footed effort beat Pol but there was Pardo to clear the danger off the line. Down the other end Susaeta went narrowly wide with an effort from the edge of the box. Caudal who clearly has more to play for in the closing stages should have scored on 72 minutes when Iago crossed for Rojas but his volley went wide. He should have done better to be honest. Diego Cervero was leading by example and not giving up. He threw himself to try and reach a Susaeta cross but was inches away from heading home. Neither side could find the breakthrough and the game finished all square to bring the curtain down on the season. Its fair to say not reaching the play off’s is a huge disappointment. We must use the extended summer break to our advantage and plan properly for next season. An interesting summer on and off the field lies ahead.