From a 4-0 loss, to a 4-0 win…
Segunda B throws a different emotion at you every week, and it doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. One week, Castilla are looking down at the danger after a disappointing result. The next, play-off dreams are revived with a surprising win. After the 4-0 defeat to Pontevedra last week, this week anything but a win against promotion chasers Coruxo would leave Madrid a long way away from that ideal fourth placed spot. Raúl returned to his original problem of accommodating Reinier without the inclusion of Rodrygo Goes, and opted to place both midfielders Miguel Baeza and Álvaro Fidalgo on the wings. Marvin Park was the unlucky talent that found himself sitting out from the start.
A week after recording their worst result of the season, this ended up being Castilla’s best result of the campaign. It wasn’t their best performance to match, but it was still a great turnout from the players. That quick, explicit play that had swept me away a few weeks previously had returned, and they blew Coruxo away with their ruthlessness in front of goal. That brutality started with Reinier Jesus. An over-hit cross came in from the left which many players would have scuffed, but Miguel Baeza showed his intelligence, keeping it controlled, and setting Reiner up for a powerful finish inside the area all in one go. The second goal would come from the spot as Álvaro Fidalgo gave the keeper no chance and sent him the wrong way. That would do Castilla for half time, but they were not finished yet. In the second half Marc Gual sent in Antonia Blanco so cleanly that he would have the time to enter the area, pick his spot and make no mistake to give Castilla a third. That looked like it would be it for Castilla, until Reinier said otherwise in the final minutes, hitting it home first time from a Marvin Park cross. 4-0, against a rival play-off team. The merry-go-round of emotion continues.
That win leaves Castilla five points away from the play-offs with ten games to go. They do however remain only six points from the red zone, meaning that anything can still happen. I think the most important aspect of this game was the integration of man of the match Reinier Jesus Carvalho. His first two games were reasonably mute as he began finding his feet in his new surroundings, but in this game he was central to everything Castilla did, and it looks like he will now be able to push on and help Castilla try and achieve the miraculous once again. Miguel Baeza also needs a mention for placing himself at the top of both the scoring chart, and the assisting chart with his contribution for Reinier’s first. Coruxo looked really poor for a side sitting high in the table, which only adds to the mystery that is Segunda B. Castilla are yet to win twice on the bounce this season, and a game against mid-table side Racing Ferrol next week offers no clues at all as to whether that will change or not. If it does, then Castilla could find themselves just two points away from the play-offs with a bit of luck.