Real Oviedo 1 Tropezon 2

Unbeaten run comes to an end

Oviedo made to wait another week

Real Oviedo’s hopes of clinching the league title were dashed after conceding a last minute goal as Los Carbayones went down 2-1 at home to battling Tropezon in wet conditions at the Carlos Tartiere. Oviedo must wait till next week to claim the point they need after Murcia won 2-0 away to Burgos.

The game after being quiet and scrappy for 84 minutes suddenly burst into life with three goals in the last six minutes.

Sergio Egea made one change to last weeks win at Zamora with Linares coming back into the side at the expense of Sergio Garcia who dropped down to the bench.

The game started in a scrappy fashion and this was a sign of things to come. Tropezon were defending in numbers and looking to break up the flow of Oviedo’s attacks and chances were at premium in the opening exchanges. Linares bustled his way through on 20 minutes and instead of shooting looked to square the ball back across the box but the danger was cleared. Defender Charlie looked to grab his first goal with a pile driver from fully 40 yards out and his effort had Ivan in the Tropezon goal worried as he scrambled then dived at full stretch but luckily for him it went inches wide of the top corner. The best chance of a nervous first half came for the visitors five minutes before the interval when after a mix up Alex found himself with the ball in front of goal and went round Esteban before somehow blazing over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

Into the second half and Oviedo seemed to be showing more intent to try and up the tempo but were struggling to get through the visitors defence. Tropezon are fighting for their lives at the bottom end of the table and this was showing in a very determined and disciplined display as they were restricting Oviedo to long range efforts. That was until 63 minutes when Oviedo had a glorious chance to take the lead. Sergio Garcia found himself clean through on goal with just the keeper to beat but he could only drag his left footed effort wide of the far post and the chance had gone. The rain was coming down more and more as the game went on and the pitch was becoming more and more difficult as the ball was not running smoothly and holding up. This made it difficult for goalkeepers and after Susaeta tried his luck from 25 yards Ivan spilled the ball but with Oviedo strikers closing in the grateful keeper managed to grab at the second attempt.

This proved to be a big moment as on 84 minutes the visitors took the lead.  Right back Cote managed to get free down the right just inside the box. He chipped a little ball into the 6-yard box and as Esteban came to meet it, he seemed to be put off by substitute Fresno and the ball evaded everyone and trickled between Esteban’s legs and into the empty net. It silenced the 15,000 Oviedo fans inside the stadium. This was just a temporary set back though as within a minute Oviedo were level. Susaeta whipped in a free kick to the far post and this was met by Diego Cervero who headed goal wards and although the ball seemed to be going wide, it hit Tropezon midfielder Conte and diverted into the bottom corner. It looked like we had got out of jail as the game edged towards injury time but there was to be one more twist in this crazy six minute spell. After a break by Tropezon and an all mighty scramble in the Oviedo penalty box which included a superb save by Esteban and a goal line clearance, the ball finally fell to Fresno who couldn’t believe his luck and tucked it into the bottom corner. It was a massive goal for the visitors and a lifeline in their bid for survival, as a draw would have done them little favours. As for Oviedo, we head to a tricky away game against Compostela next week where we will hope to wrap up the league title with victory. The hosts are chasing a play off spot and have lost just one of their last ten games.