retired_amyslack

January 2002

Sunday 6th
So it's back into action after our Christmas break and I hope that the players are suitably refreshed as we travel inland to the town of Mérida to play the team of the same name. Judging by their league position this should be a gentle re-introduction to competitive play, but you never know in Football.

As the game got underway it looked as though there would be an upset on the cards as Mérida started very positively and had several good chances. After 15 minutes Diego Martin gave us the lead against the run of play but the home side kept attacking and we were grateful that José Luis was having an excellent game. José Masegosa got our second goal on the stroke of half time and we went into the break with a rather undeserved lead. The pattern continued in the second half with Mérida doing everything except score and we got a third through Igor Arenaza on 56 minutes. We wrapped the game up in the 76th minute when Orife got the fourth, although just prior to that José Luis picked up an injury and Burgos came on for his first start of the season.

Sunday 13th
For our next match we take the ferry again as we travel across the Straights of Gibraltar to Morocco to play Cueta. They are challenging for the playoff places so I expect a difficult game. As Rodri has recovered from injury I decide to bring him into the team for his first start and Burgos will replace the injured José Luis. The match itself was very evenly contested with nothing to choose between the two teams. We took the lead when Masegosa scored after 13 minutes and that's how it stayed until half time. Cueta equalised on the hour mark but we went back in to the lead as Orife scored a few minutes later. The home side got a second equaliser ten minutes from time and the match ended all square.

Monday 14th
Rodri picks up another injury in training, this time a groin strain that will keep him out for about a month.

Friday 18th
Carlos Rivera will be out for a few days after he suffered a bruised rib in training.

Sunday 20th
Cadiz visit Motril for our next league match. This was a very even match with not a lot to separate the two teams. The visitors just edge the first half and backup keeper Burgos makes some fine saves to keep the scoresheet blank at half time. Unfortunately, just before the break left back Luis Miguel Carrión gets injured. This gives me a problem as I don't have another left sided player available. I bring on midfielder Cristian Iván Murúa and ask him to play out of position at the back. He makes a decent fist of it and we open the scoring through the excellent José Masegosa after 58 minutes. Orife gets a second 10 minutes from time and we hold on for a very good 2-0 win. The news on Carrión is not good as he will be out for 3 weeks with a twisted knee.

Sunday 27th
Our next match sees us visiting struggling Ecija. Located midway between Sevilla and Córdoba in a valley of low hills, Ecija is not a place to visit in the summer. It is known as La Sartén de Andalucia (the Frying-Pan of Andalucia) because of the very high temperatures that are often endured there. However at this time of year that won't be a problem. With Carrión out injured I have asked Abraham to go back to playing out of position at left back. Carlos Rivera is fit again so he comes into midfield. We play reasonably well with Carlos Rivera having an excellent game in midfield. Unfortunately we struggle to convert our scoring opportunities, although we never look like conceding ourselves, and have to settle for a 0-0 draw. Diego MartÃ*n was booked today and he will face a one-match suspension as it is his fifth yellow card of the season.

The two draws this month means that we drop down a place to 3rd but we are still maintaining our position in the promotion playoff group.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Sunday 27th January 2002********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Cartagonova 22 8 2 0 22 8 8 3 1 27 14 53 2nd Linares 22 10 0 0 26 5 5 4 3 23 20 49 3rd MOTRIL 22 8 2 0 20 7 6 4 2 19 11 48 4th Ceuta 22 7 4 1 22 11 6 2 2 21 14 45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Algeciras 22 6 3 3 15 10 6 3 1 17 14 42 6th Extremadura 22 8 1 2 25 9 4 3 4 15 20 40 7th Betis B 22 4 4 3 22 17 6 2 3 23 20 36 8th Sevilla B 22 5 4 2 21 19 3 4 4 16 18 32 9th Melilla 22 5 2 3 16 8 3 5 4 9 10 31 10th DÃ*ter Zafra 22 5 3 4 16 15 3 2 5 16 16 29 11th Jaén 22 4 5 1 13 7 2 4 6 15 21 27 12th Málaga B 22 5 7 0 18 11 1 2 7 8 24 27 13th Ciudad de Murcia 22 3 2 5 17 17 2 5 5 12 15 22 14th Torredonjimeno 22 4 1 7 24 25 2 3 5 10 16 22 15th Jerez 22 4 2 4 15 13 0 5 7 11 27 19 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Écija 22 1 5 6 17 23 3 1 6 11 17 18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Cádiz 22 2 6 4 15 16 1 3 6 7 16 18 18th Cacereño 22 3 1 8 12 18 2 2 6 8 16 18 19th Mérida 22 2 2 7 8 22 2 3 6 7 20 17 20th Moralo 22 1 4 5 11 20 0 0 12 6 26 7</pre>

retired_amyslack

February 2002

Sunday 3rd
We host Malaga B today in our first league match of the month. With Diego MartÃ*n suspended Sergio Larreina will start up front and young Kévin Jacmot gets a place on the bench. The visitors take an unexpected lead after 30 minutes but just a minute later Larreina grabs an equaliser. Ten minutes after the restart Igor Arenaza puts us into the lead but we can't hold on to it and 20 minutes from time Malaga make it all square. Then Carlos Rivera limps off injured and is replaced by Murúa. We can't find a winner and the game ends all square at 2-2.

Wednesday 6th
In the Spanish Cup Quarter Finals Second Division Badajoz pull off an upset when they eliminate Valencia on away goals. Badajoz won the first leg at home 1-0 and were defeated 2-1 in Valencia to advance to the Semi Final.

Sunday 10th
We travel to Torredonjimeno, a small town to the west of Jaen. Carrión has recovered from injury so he comes back in at left back, allowing Abraham to replace the injured Carlos Rivera in midfield. Diego MartÃ*n is back from suspension and starts up front. We get an excellent 2-0 win, our scorers being Orife and Masegosa.

Sunday 17th
Next up we have a home match against Diter Zafra. Rodri is back in full training after his injury but I decide not to risk him in this match. An excellent all-round performance gives us a 2-1 win, with Orife getting both of our goals.

Tuesday 19th
Victor gets badly bruised ribs following a collision in training and will be out for 2 weeks.

Sunday 24th
We have a long journey north to Caceres to play Cacereño. Carlos Rivero is back in full training and will join Rodri on the bench. We win a rather dull and unadventurous match 1-0 but central defender Suat Usta picks up an injury and will be out for 10 days.

Another good month in the league means that we maintain third place. More importantly, we are 11 points clear of fifth place so we have an excellent chance of staying in the playoff places.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Sunday 24th February 2002********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Linares 26 12 0 0 34 11 7 4 3 27 22 61 2nd Cartagonova 26 9 3 0 25 9 8 4 2 29 17 58 3rd MOTRIL 26 9 3 0 24 10 8 4 2 22 11 58 4th Ceuta 26 8 4 1 24 11 8 3 2 27 17 55 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Extremadura 26 9 2 2 29 12 5 3 5 19 25 47 6th Betis B 26 5 5 3 25 19 7 3 3 26 22 44 7th Algeciras 26 6 4 4 17 13 6 4 2 21 19 44 8th Melilla 26 5 2 5 17 13 4 6 4 13 12 35 9th Jaén 26 4 7 1 16 10 4 4 6 19 23 35 10th Sevilla B 26 5 4 4 26 26 3 4 6 16 22 32 11th Málaga B 26 5 8 1 20 14 1 4 7 10 26 30 12th DÃ*ter Zafra 26 5 3 6 18 19 3 2 7 20 22 29 13th Torredonjimeno 26 5 1 8 27 27 2 5 5 13 19 27 14th Cádiz 26 2 7 4 16 17 3 3 7 11 18 25 15th Jerez 26 5 4 4 20 16 0 6 7 13 29 25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Écija 26 3 5 6 22 26 3 1 8 11 20 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Ciudad de Murcia 26 3 2 8 22 27 2 6 5 14 17 23 18th Cacereño 26 3 1 10 13 21 2 4 6 11 19 20 19th Mérida 26 2 3 8 9 24 2 3 8 10 27 18 20th Moralo 26 2 5 5 15 22 2 0 12 15 32 17</pre>

retired_amyslack

Thanks Jordi

March 2002

Sunday 3rd
For our first match of the month we are at home to Algeciras. This is an important fixture as the visitors are chasing a playoff place. Carlos Rivera comes in to central defence in place of the injured Usta. We have a nightmare of a match, losing 2-0 and having Carlos Rivera sent off for a professional foul. We had three other players booked and I was not impressed by the performance of the referee. Apart from José Luis in goal, I was not impressed by the efforts of the team either and we will need to show a big improvement in the next match.

Sunday 10th
Today we have travelled to Sevilla to play their B team. Our opponents lie mid-table and I hope that we will be able to bounce back from our dreadful performance last week and get back to winning ways. Carlos Rivera is suspended but Usta has recovered from his injury, so he comes into defence. Despite dominating most of the play and creating a number of chances we can't find a way past an inspired home keeper, and the match ends scoreless. Of more concern is the fact that, for the second game in succession, we have a player sent off. The culprit this time is Carrión and this is his second sending off since he arrived at the club. I feel that I have no option but to give Luis Miguel an official warning for his dismissal and I am disappointed when he tells me that he thinks that my warning was harsh. More bad news follows as Diego MartÃ*n has picked up an injury and will be out for 10 days.

Monday 11th
We receive notification that Carrión has received a further 3-match ban for his red card yesterday.

Sunday 17th
For our home game against promotion rivals Extremadura we have 5 players unavailable through injuries and suspensions. This is a large proportion of our small squad. I ask Abraham to once again play out of position at left back, give Rodri a start in midfield and give Javier Guerra a start up front. The visitors take the lead from the penalty spot after 22 minutes but Orife gets a good equaliser on the half hour. Unfortunately we fall behind again before half time and are unable to get back on terms and suffer a 2-1 defeat. This defeat drops us down to 4th place, just 6 points ahead of today's opponents.

Friday 22nd
We have another injury problem when PÃ*a damages a shoulder in training and will be sidelined for a fortnight.

Saturday 24th
For our next match we travel East along the coast and then slightly North to Murcia to play Ciudad de Murcia. Our hosts held us to a scoreless draw when they visited us back in October and they are currently involved in a relegation battle so I expect a tough encounter. The match was definitely a "game of two halves". We had by far the better of the first half and went into the break 2-0 ahead thanks to Diego MartÃ*n and José Masegosa. But an injury to central defender Suat Usta right at the end of the half meant that Sergio Cuevas took the field for the second half. This enforced change seemed to upset our balance and the home side dominated the remainder of the match. They pulled a goal back after 50 minutes and it took an inspired display by keeper José Luis to preserve our lead and we hung on for a 2-1 win. It transpires that Usta will be out for 3 weeks as his knee injury is more serious than it first appeared.

Wednesday 27th
We received a couple of approaches today. Firstly, Second Division Real Oviedo have offered coach Juan Carlos Mandia a job as a scout. I really don't want to lose Juan Carlos so I have offered him an improved contract to stay with us. The €65K we would receive in compensation would be useful, but a good coach like Juan Carlos will be hard to replace. Secondly, Mexican club Tecos de la UAG have made an offer of €550K for winger Igor Arenaza. This one is a very tough call. Igor has made it clear that he is keen to move to a bigger club and the fee involved would clear our debts and give us some cash to bring in new players. On the other hand, Igor is one of our most important players and he would leave a big gap in the squad. I decide to avoid an immediate choice by asking for another €200K to see if the Mexicans are really interested.

Thursday 28th
To my great relief, Juan Carlos decides to accept the new contract and stay at Motril in his coaching position.

Friday 29th
Tecos respond very quickly to my negations and make a final offer of €750K. This is just too much to turn down, and I reluctantly accept their offer. Igor is keen to make the move and within a day he has agreed terms is on the plane to Guadalajara. After meeting with the chairman to review our finances, we agree that €950K will be made available for transfers. With some careful signings, this could go a long way towards significantly improving the squad.

Sunday 31st
Our final game of the month is a home match against Jerez who are just above the relegation places. The visitors battled hard and took the lead just before half time. We fought back strongly however, and Orife scored an equaliser early in the second half. We had two goals disallowed for offside and also struck the woodwork but we were unable to find a winner. In fact it took a brilliant double save from José Luis late on to hold on to the 1-1 draw.

It has been a hard month and with only 5 points from our 5 games and we have dropped to 4th place but we are still in a playoff place. Injuries and suspensions have cost us and I am sure that our league program in April will be even more demanding.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************* Spanish Second Division B - Sunday 31st March 2002********************************************** ************************************************Gr oup 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Linares 31 14 0 1 39 14 7 5 4 29 25 68 2nd Cartagonova 31 10 4 1 30 13 9 4 3 32 20 65 3rd Ceuta 31 11 4 1 31 12 8 4 3 27 19 65 4th MOTRIL 31 9 4 2 26 15 9 5 2 24 12 63 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Betis B 31 7 6 3 32 22 8 4 3 33 26 55 6th Extremadura 31 10 2 3 32 17 6 4 6 24 31 54 7th Algeciras 31 6 6 4 20 16 8 4 3 27 22 52 8th Melilla 31 7 3 5 23 16 6 6 4 15 12 48 9th Jaén 31 7 7 1 24 12 5 4 7 22 26 47 10th DÃ*ter Zafra 31 6 4 6 20 19 5 3 7 29 25 40 11th Cádiz 31 4 8 4 21 19 4 4 7 17 20 36 12th Sevilla B 31 6 5 4 29 26 3 4 9 17 30 36 13th Málaga B 31 6 8 2 23 18 1 6 8 14 31 35 14th Torredonjimeno 31 5 3 8 31 31 3 5 7 17 23 32 15th Jerez 31 6 4 5 24 20 1 7 8 17 32 32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Ciudad de Murcia 31 4 2 9 26 31 2 7 7 18 26 27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Écija 31 3 6 7 24 30 3 2 10 11 23 26 18th Cacereño 31 4 1 11 15 25 2 5 8 15 27 24 19th Mérida 31 2 4 10 11 33 2 3 10 10 32 19 20th Moralo 31 2 6 7 15 25 2 1 13 16 34 19</pre>

retired_amyslack

April 2002

Wednesday 3rd
For the first match in what promises to be a very tough schedule we have made the long journey to Navalmoral de la Mata, some 500 kilometres from Motril. Our opponents, Moralo, are at the bottom of the table but several of our players are still weary after the game at the weekend and the arduous journey. Carlos Rivera has returned from suspension and plays in central defence. José Miguel Zurita is drafted in to play at right back and Sergio Larreina replaces Orife in attack. I also play Javier Guerra on the left wing. Zurita plays very well at fullback, in fact he puts in a much better performance in that role than he has in his favoured right wing position. Diego MartÃ*n opened the scoring for us and we held on to our lead until half time. The home side equalised just after the restart but Larreina put us back in front with 20 minutes remaining. Just as it looked like we have the win secured, a lapse in concentration at the back allowed Moralo to get a last-minute equaliser. The 2-2 result is a huge disappointment as we should have taken all 3 points in this game. To make matters worse we get yet another injury as young central defender Juan will be out for 10 days with a twisted knee.

Friday 5th
Real Oviedo made another bid for one of our coaches. This time they are after Jaime Mora and have offered the 60-year-old a scouting position. I am prepared to let Jaime go as I have not been impressed with the way that he deals with the younger players, so I didn't try to counter their offer.

Sunday 7th
Today we face the first of two games than could make or break our season as we entertain second-placed Cartagonova. The long-time leaders have been overtaken recently by Linares, our opponents next weekend. Injuries apart, I can field my strongest team for this vital match. An absolute sellout 6,000 crowd witnessed one of our most dramatic games of the season. The excellent Orife gave us a great start by finishing off a neat passing move after 17 minutes but the visitors equalised 20 minutes later and we went into the break tied at 1-1. Orife notched his 15th of the season to put us back into the lead minutes after the restart. Cartagonova began to put us under real pressure but fortunately José Luis was in sparkling form, and kept out everything that they could throw at us. But then, with just 15 minutes remaining, we suffered a double blow. First, the visitors got the goal that their pressure deserved, evening things up at 2-2. Then within seconds, Orife hobbled off injured and was replaced by Sergio Larreina. But the drama wasn't over yet, as 10 minutes after coming on, Larreina put us back in front with a powerful shot from distance. Cartagonova really battered us for the last 6 or 8 minutes but they couldn't find a third equaliser and we held on for a superb 3-2 win. The bad news is that Orife's sprained ankle will keep him out for at least 3 weeks.

Monday 8th.
There was yet another injury blow today when Abraham twisted a knee in training and he will be out for 2 weeks.

Tuesday 9th
Jaime Mora has accepted the job offer from Real Oviedo and we received €70K in compensation.

Friday 12th
Our injury jinx has struck again as José Masegosa damages a shoulder in training and is sidelined for 2 weeks. My mood was not improved when I heard that Real Oviedo were at it again and wanted to take scout Eduardo GarcÃ*a González on as a coach. I had no idea that Eduardo was interested in coaching, but when I found out I immediately offered him a coaching position at Motril.

Sunday 14th
Crunch time again with a 200 kilometre trip due North to take on league leaders Linares. Juan and Usta have just resumed full training yesterday and I don't want to risk either of them in a starting role so PÃ*a comes into central defence and Usta takes a seat on the bench. Right back José Antonio Mateos is asked to play in right midfield to replace José Masegosa and Larreina replaces Orife in attack. I decide to stick with the attacking style of play that has served us so well this season. In retrospect, this may have been a mistake as we are thoroughly outplayed and suffer a crushing 4-1 defeat. In truth it was a very disappointing performance, although we started brightly. The home side opened the scoring after just 6 minutes, but Larreina equalised 5 minutes later. However, poor performances from Carrión, PÃ*a and the normally very reliable Carlos Rivera undermined our efforts. Worst of all, José Luis put in possibly his worst performance of the season, looking uncharacteristically nervous and ill at ease.

Monday 15th
There is one piece of good news today as Eduardo GarcÃ*a González accepts my offer of a coaching position.

Friday 19th
I have filled the open scouting position following Eduardo's move to the coaching staff by hiring 39-year-old Juan Antonia Leal from amateur side Serrallo. It has cost us €100K in compensation but I think that he is worth it.

Sunday 21st
We are back at the Escribano Castilla for the visit of Jaen and I want to make home advantage count and secure a full 3 points. I have restored Usta and Juan to central defence as their presences has been sorely missed. A win here would go a long way to guaranteeing us a place in the promotion playoffs. José Luis was distraught after his performance last week, but I have assured him that he has not lost my confidence and I have kept faith with him in goal for today's match. To describe the match as frustrating would be disappointing. We scored twice through Sergio Larreina and Diego MartÃ*n, but were unable to hold the lead and allowed the visitors to equalise on each occasion. Even worse, Javier Guerra and Carlos Rivera both suffered injuries. Carlos has strained his ankle ligaments and will be out for a month. Javier had been filling in quite well on the left wing and his strained knee ligaments will sideline him for 3 weeks.

Monday 22nd
Reflecting on yesterday's results I see that Linares and Cartagonova have secured their playoff places. We sit 7 points clear of 5th placed Algeciras who lost their match yesterday. With 3 games remaining this means that one more win will get us into the all-important playoffs. However, we have 6 players currently injured, 3 of whom are unlikely to be fit enough to play in any of our remaining league matches.

Sunday 28th
Our final game of the month sees Melilla visit the Escribano Castilla. Jacmot and Rodri come in to replace the injured Guerra and Rivera. It's a tense affair as neither side really dominates and there are chances at both ends of the pitch. Mateos settled our nerves when he scored his first goal for the club on 23 minutes. On 60 minutes Diego MartÃ*n looked like he had added a second but it was ruled out because Jacmot had strayed offside. With time running out it looked like we had the win we required but it was not to be. Melilla scored an equalising goal with 4 minutes remaining on the clock. With Algeciras winning we now have a 5-point cushion with 2 games remaining.

Tuesday 30th
There is no escaping the injury jinx here at Motril. Having managed to get through a full game with no injuries, Sergio Larreina is injured in training. Fortunately it is a minor shoulder injury and he will only be out for a week.

With 6 league points gained this month we are now tantalisingly close to a playoff place. One more win is all that is required.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Wednesday 1st May 2002********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Pl Linares 36 16 1 1 48 18 8 6 4 36 29 79 2nd Pl Cartagonova 36 11 6 1 34 16 10 4 4 35 23 73 3rd Ceuta 36 12 5 1 35 14 8 5 5 29 23 70 4th MOTRIL 36 10 6 2 32 20 9 6 3 27 18 69 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Algeciras 36 9 6 4 26 17 9 4 4 30 24 64 6th Extremadura 36 13 2 3 38 19 6 5 7 27 35 64 7th Betis B 36 7 7 4 35 28 8 5 5 36 33 57 8th Jaén 36 8 9 1 30 16 5 5 8 25 30 53 9th DÃ*ter Zafra 36 8 4 6 24 20 7 3 8 34 29 52 10th Melilla 36 7 4 6 25 19 6 9 4 19 16 52 11th Cádiz 36 5 9 4 26 23 7 4 7 29 20 49 12th Jerez 36 9 4 5 33 23 2 7 9 21 35 44 13th Sevilla B 36 7 5 6 32 30 4 4 10 19 35 42 14th Málaga B 36 7 8 3 25 21 1 7 10 14 36 39 15th Ciudad de Murcia 36 6 2 10 33 37 2 9 7 20 28 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Torredonjimeno 36 5 4 9 32 33 3 5 10 19 29 33 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Écija 36 4 7 7 29 31 3 2 13 12 31 30 18th Cacereño 36 5 2 11 17 26 2 7 9 16 30 30 19th R Moralo 36 3 7 8 20 33 2 2 14 19 39 24 20th R Mérida 36 2 4 12 11 36 2 3 13 13 42 19</pre>

retired_amyslack

May 2002

Sunday 5th
We have made the trip northwest to Sevilla for our final away match of the season against Betis B. We will have one more chance of a playoff slot next weekend, but I would be mighty relieved if we could tie it up today. Abraham is back in midfield after his injury and Orife is fit enough to be amongst the substitutes and the untried Alexis takes the place of Larreina. A tense encounter ends with a 1-0 win to the home team and we are still unable to seal or playoff position. Algeciras are now out of the picture after their 1-1 draw but Extremadura win 2-0 to keep their hopes alive. We are now 2 points clear of them and must win our final match to stay in the top four.

Sunday 12th
So this is it - our whole season comes down to our final league match of the season, a home game against already relegated Merida. Extremadura, our only rivals for the playoffs, also have a home game against Cacereno. Their opponents are not yet relegated and they could escape the bottom four and face a relegation playoff, so at least they have something to play for. On paper, we should have no trouble in beating Merida, but as we all know, football matches aren't played on paper! Orife comes back into the side for our make-or-break encounter and if ever we need a strong performance from our strikers, we need it today. Over 5,500 fans cheered us on as we labour to break down a stubborn defence. Unfortunately was just cannot develop any attacking rhythm and try as we might the elusive goal would not come and we ended up with a very disappointing 0-0 draw. At the final whistle the stadium was eerily silent as we waited to hear the other results. And then we knew - Extremadura had won 2-0 and Ceuta had lost 5-4 at Jaen. A frantic calculation showed the bad news - Extremadura had leapfrogged us both and finished 3rd, Ceuta were 4th and we had agonisingly slipped to 5th and were out of the playoffs.

Monday 13th
After the bitter disappointment of yesterday I glanced morosely at the final league table.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Pl Linares 38 17 1 1 49 18 9 6 4 38 30 85 2nd Pl Cartagonova 38 12 6 1 35 16 10 4 5 35 24 76 3rd Pl Extremadura 38 14 2 3 40 19 7 5 7 29 35 70 4th Pl Ceuta 38 12 5 2 36 16 8 5 6 33 28 70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th MOTRIL 38 10 7 2 32 20 9 6 4 27 19 70 6th Algeciras 38 9 6 4 26 17 9 5 5 31 26 65 7th Betis B 38 8 7 4 36 28 8 6 5 38 35 61 8th Jaén 38 9 9 1 35 20 6 5 8 28 31 59 9th Melilla 38 7 6 6 28 22 6 9 4 19 16 54 10th DÃ*ter Zafra 38 8 4 7 24 22 7 3 9 35 31 52 11th Cádiz 38 6 9 4 27 23 7 4 8 29 21 52 12th Jerez 38 10 4 5 35 24 3 7 9 23 35 50 13th Sevilla B 38 8 5 6 33 30 4 4 11 19 37 45 14th Ciudad de Murcia 38 7 2 10 35 38 3 9 7 22 29 41 15th Málaga B 38 7 8 4 25 23 1 8 10 15 37 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Pl Torredonjimeno 38 5 4 10 33 35 3 5 11 20 31 33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Cacereño 38 6 2 11 19 26 2 7 10 16 32 33 18th R Écija 38 4 8 7 30 32 3 2 14 12 32 31 19th R Moralo 38 3 8 8 21 34 2 3 14 20 40 26 20th R Mérida 38 2 4 13 12 39 2 4 13 13 42 20</pre>

At the end of February we had an 11-point lead over the 5th placed team and I am bitterly disappointed that we let that slip. In retrospect, it had been a big mistake to sell Igor Arenaza as his experience and creative play in midfield was badly missed. Our horrible run of injuries also played a big part in our eventual failure to reach the playoffs. Over the next few days I will be reviewing the season with the coaching staff to see what lessons we can learn for next season.

Wednesday 15th
Betis won the UEFA Cup with a 2-0 win over Kaiserslautern. I idly wonder if Motril will ever be in a position to challenge for European honours.

Sunday 19th
As the promotion playoffs get underway their have been some changes in the backroom staff. I have been in conflict with ex-Assistant Manager José Manuel Ortega all season, as we really do not see eye-to-eye and I decided that this would be a good time for him to leave the club. I have promoted Juan Antonia Leal from the scouting team into my coaching staff. Argentinean Gustavo Caceres has joined the scouts as I feel that his knowledge of the South American scene may help in recruiting some quality players. It costs us €28K in compensation to his previous club.

Wednesday 22nd
The coaching roster is completed with the arrival of Hector Gil at a cost of €110K. Hector is a young coach with a good reputation and I am sure that he will work well with the playing squad.

Saturday 25th
Atletico Madrid win the Spanish Cup with a good 3-1 victory over Deportivo.

retired_bbcarr

that's one **** poor end to the season, mr nomates

retired_amyslack

Terk, Jordi - That was what is known as a "character building experience"!

June 2002

With the playoffs now complete Cartagonova are the only team from our group to have secured promotion. Here are the league tables in full for all of the Spanish Divisions.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish First Division - Sunday 9th June 2002********************************************** *********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Barcelona 38 17 2 0 39 6 10 5 4 35 22 88 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Real Madrid 38 18 0 1 39 7 8 6 5 34 25 84 3rd Athletic Bilbao 38 15 2 2 49 12 7 4 8 32 34 72 4th Betis 38 13 4 2 31 7 7 7 5 25 13 71 5th Atlético Madrid 38 16 0 3 37 14 4 5 10 18 26 65 6th Valencia 38 14 4 1 37 8 3 8 8 19 28 63 7th Deportivo 38 10 8 1 23 11 6 4 9 17 19 60 8th Villarreal 38 13 2 4 40 25 5 4 10 23 33 60 9th Málaga 38 13 3 3 40 26 5 2 12 20 38 59 10th Sevilla 38 9 7 3 35 18 5 3 11 22 41 52 11th Mallorca 38 9 3 7 32 32 6 4 9 24 34 52 12th Celta 38 10 7 2 32 16 4 1 14 19 42 50 13th Real Sociedad 38 9 5 5 35 28 4 5 10 22 39 49 14th Osasuna 38 11 1 7 40 32 1 3 15 19 46 40 15th Racing Santander 38 5 4 10 29 38 4 3 12 20 40 34 16th Alavés 38 6 9 4 26 21 2 1 16 12 39 34 17th Espanyol 38 6 5 8 26 31 3 1 15 15 34 33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Valladolid 38 7 5 7 32 28 0 7 12 5 28 33 19th R Rayo 38 6 5 8 26 28 2 4 13 21 42 33 20th R Recreativo 38 4 4 11 19 30 3 3 13 16 44 28 ************************************************** ***************************************** Spanish Second Division - Sunday 9th June 2002********************************************** *********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Tenerife 42 12 6 3 40 22 12 6 3 43 27 84 2nd P Zaragoza 42 15 3 3 34 14 10 5 6 48 34 83 3rd P Xerez 42 13 1 7 42 37 10 4 7 45 42 74 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Oviedo 42 14 2 5 40 22 8 5 8 36 30 73 5th Córdoba 42 14 3 4 41 16 7 6 8 31 33 72 6th Salamanca 42 16 2 3 45 23 5 7 9 21 28 72 7th Levante 42 10 6 5 40 31 10 4 7 39 35 70 8th Numancia 42 12 2 7 38 26 9 4 8 41 36 69 9th Leganés 42 13 5 3 50 32 7 4 10 33 35 69 10th Las Palmas 42 9 7 5 42 26 10 3 8 44 43 67 11th Getafe 42 8 6 7 29 28 9 5 7 29 30 62 12th Elche 42 8 5 8 39 33 9 4 8 32 34 60 13th Sporting Gijón 42 9 5 7 35 30 8 3 10 28 28 59 14th Ejido 42 8 5 8 30 30 7 5 9 29 27 55 15th Compostela 42 10 5 6 27 24 4 4 13 11 31 51 16th Murcia 42 8 6 7 26 27 4 5 12 19 35 47 17th Albacete 42 9 6 6 31 26 3 5 13 21 34 47 18th Badajoz 42 4 8 9 19 35 7 5 9 20 28 46 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19th R Éibar 42 8 3 10 34 42 4 3 14 19 35 42 20th R Terrassa 42 4 4 13 29 40 4 3 14 27 48 31 21st R AlmerÃ*a 42 4 5 12 23 43 2 4 15 22 46 27 22nd R Ferrol 42 6 4 11 32 43 0 5 16 12 47 27 ************************************************** ***************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Sunday 9th June 2002********************************************** *********************************************Group 1Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Ourense 38 10 7 2 40 18 11 5 3 31 15 75 2nd Pontevedra 38 15 3 1 44 13 7 5 7 31 32 74 3rd Pájara Playas 38 11 5 3 31 14 8 6 5 33 24 68 4th Cultural 38 15 3 1 39 14 4 8 7 27 32 68 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Zamora 38 14 4 1 47 16 5 4 10 27 32 65 6th Langreo 38 13 1 5 30 18 6 4 9 18 22 62 7th Lugo 38 12 6 1 41 20 5 3 11 24 35 60 8th Lanzarote 38 13 3 3 39 17 3 7 9 22 29 58 9th Ponferradina 38 10 4 5 33 23 6 4 9 15 24 56 10th Marino 38 9 3 7 28 27 7 4 8 28 37 55 11th At. Madrid B 38 10 5 4 46 32 5 3 11 22 36 53 12th Ã�vila 38 7 8 4 24 25 3 8 8 16 27 46 13th Real Madrid B 38 8 3 8 29 30 4 6 9 28 40 45 14th Alcalá 38 8 3 8 22 25 4 3 12 17 32 42 15th Ribadesella 38 6 6 7 26 27 4 5 10 18 31 41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Avilés 38 6 5 8 25 28 5 2 12 24 40 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Corralejo 38 5 6 8 17 23 5 2 12 16 30 38 18th R Alcorcón 38 6 5 8 29 31 3 6 10 23 42 38 19th R Univ. Las Palmas 38 4 5 10 30 36 4 4 11 22 33 33 20th R Celta B 38 4 5 10 21 32 5 1 13 27 48 33 Group 2Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Real Unión 38 16 3 0 40 10 17 2 0 52 15 104 2nd Toledo 38 11 2 6 32 21 9 6 4 28 24 68 3rd Gernika 38 12 2 5 30 17 8 5 6 35 31 67 4th Alavés B 38 10 4 5 35 21 9 5 5 33 19 66 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Logroñés 38 11 6 2 27 14 7 5 7 22 24 65 6th Talavera 38 13 3 3 39 14 5 6 8 14 20 63 7th Calahorra 38 10 5 4 30 18 8 3 8 26 29 62 8th Conquense 38 12 4 3 34 20 4 7 8 14 24 59 9th Barakaldo 38 11 2 6 39 24 5 6 8 21 25 56 10th Amurrio 38 9 4 6 23 16 4 7 8 21 26 50 11th Peña Sport 38 7 6 6 27 24 7 1 11 22 30 49 12th Binéfar 38 8 5 6 23 23 5 4 10 24 31 48 13th Racing B 38 9 2 8 28 27 5 4 10 20 27 48 14th Noja 38 9 4 6 29 30 3 5 11 22 33 45 15th Aurrerá 38 10 2 7 30 27 4 1 14 27 51 45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Athletic B 38 5 5 9 23 31 7 3 9 27 34 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Zaragoza B 38 6 4 9 25 32 2 4 13 15 38 32 18th R Osasuna B 38 4 6 9 28 40 4 1 14 16 43 31 19th R Gimnástica 38 6 4 9 28 32 2 2 15 15 37 30 20th R Azkoyen 38 6 6 7 23 24 1 2 16 11 32 29 Group 3Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Hércules 38 17 1 1 49 12 13 3 3 34 16 94 2nd P Lleida 38 15 4 0 47 17 9 7 3 35 23 83 3rd Castellón 38 12 4 3 36 18 11 3 5 29 20 76 4th P Burgos 38 13 2 4 37 22 9 6 4 46 39 74 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Nástic 38 11 3 5 35 23 12 2 5 41 27 74 6th Mataró 38 14 2 3 48 24 7 3 9 36 37 68 7th Hospitalet 38 12 4 3 46 24 6 3 10 41 48 61 8th Sabadell 38 13 2 4 32 14 5 4 10 29 31 60 9th Figueres 38 14 2 3 38 22 2 5 12 16 32 55 10th Orihuela 38 11 4 4 39 26 3 6 10 29 36 52 11th Reus 38 8 4 7 33 32 5 7 7 24 26 50 12th Novelda 38 9 2 8 33 31 6 0 13 32 50 47 13th Palamós 38 7 8 4 28 23 2 4 13 20 39 39 14th Gramanet 38 8 4 7 29 30 3 2 14 24 43 39 15th Valencia B 38 8 6 5 35 31 2 3 14 20 46 39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Mallorca B 38 7 4 8 37 38 2 4 13 18 47 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Espanyol B 38 7 4 8 32 43 2 2 15 16 37 33 18th R Alicante 38 8 4 7 40 38 0 2 17 14 47 30 19th R Gavá 38 6 6 7 27 36 1 1 17 21 46 28 20th R Barcelona B 38 4 6 9 23 34 0 9 10 13 34 27 Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Linares 38 17 1 1 49 18 9 6 4 38 30 85 2nd P Cartagonova 38 12 6 1 35 16 10 4 5 35 24 76 3rd Extremadura 38 14 2 3 40 19 7 5 7 29 35 70 4th Ceuta 38 12 5 2 36 16 8 5 6 33 28 70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th MOTRIL 38 10 7 2 32 20 9 6 4 27 19 70 6th Algeciras 38 9 6 4 26 17 9 5 5 31 26 65 7th Betis B 38 8 7 4 36 28 8 6 5 38 35 61 8th Jaén 38 9 9 1 35 20 6 5 8 28 31 59 9th Melilla 38 7 6 6 28 22 6 9 4 19 16 54 10th DÃ*ter Zafra 38 8 4 7 24 22 7 3 9 35 31 52 11th Cádiz 38 6 9 4 27 23 7 4 8 29 21 52 12th Jerez 38 10 4 5 35 24 3 7 9 23 35 50 13th Sevilla B 38 8 5 6 33 30 4 4 11 19 37 45 14th Ciudad de Murcia 38 7 2 10 35 38 3 9 7 22 29 41 15th Málaga B 38 7 8 4 25 23 1 8 10 15 37 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th R Torredonjimeno 38 5 4 10 33 35 3 5 11 20 31 33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Cacereño 38 6 2 11 19 26 2 7 10 16 32 33 18th R Écija 38 4 8 7 30 32 3 2 14 12 32 31 19th R Moralo 38 3 8 8 21 34 2 3 14 20 40 26 20th R Mérida 38 2 4 13 12 39 2 4 13 13 42 20 Promotion Group APos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Lleida 6 1 2 0 6 3 1 1 1 4 4 9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pájara Playas 6 1 1 1 4 5 1 2 0 4 1 9 3rd Alavés B 6 1 2 0 4 2 0 2 1 4 7 7 4th Linares 6 1 1 1 4 5 0 1 2 3 6 5 Promotion Group BPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Burgos 6 2 1 0 4 2 1 0 2 7 8 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Extremadura 6 3 0 0 10 6 0 0 3 5 8 9 3rd Toledo 6 2 1 0 8 6 0 1 2 4 7 8 4th Ourense 6 2 0 1 7 5 0 1 2 3 6 7 Promotion Group CPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Cartagonova 6 2 1 0 5 3 1 1 1 2 5 11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Cultural 6 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 2 1 4 7 3rd Castellón 6 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 3 7 4th Real Unión 6 2 0 1 8 3 0 1 2 2 4 7 Promotion Group DPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Hércules 6 2 1 0 6 2 2 0 1 7 5 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Ceuta 6 1 1 1 7 5 2 1 0 6 2 11 3rd Pontevedra 6 1 1 1 5 5 1 1 1 6 6 8 4th Gernika 6 0 0 3 2 8 0 1 2 1 7 1</pre>


Group 3 dominated the playoffs, with 3 of their 4 representatives gaining promotion.

Now that the immediate disappointment of just losing out on a playoff place has passed, the coaching staff and myself are looking to the new season with keen anticipation. On the playing front, José Luis was a revelation and his superb displays were one of the main reasons that we ended up with one of the best defensive records in the division. Our strikers Rodolfo Andrés Orife and Diego MartÃ*n were also excellent, with 27 goals between them. Suat Usta played well after his arrival and proved to be the best of our new signings. José Masegosa was quite effective on the right wing and his 7 goals and 6 assists were valuable. Orife has been voted the Supporters Player of the year, an award that he fully deserves.

For the forthcoming campaign we intend to play with a different formation designed to give us more strength at the back. We will play 3 defensive midfielders to support 2 centre backs and use a single striker with an attacking midfielder supporting him. We have been pursuing a number of players this month and although we have had several offers accepted, we have been unable to agree terms with any of our targets as their wage demands are just too high. Gustavo Caceres has been sent off to South America to see if he can find any suitable playing talent there.

retired_amyslack

July 2002

Tuesday 2nd
We have obtained a young central defender Xavi Comas (20, D C) on loan for the season. The youngster has bags of potential and will get a good run in our starting lineup if he proves to be any good.

Saturday 6th
Sergio Cuevas has not had his contract renewed and he has agreed a deal with Barcelona C and left the club. Sergio was a fringe player for us and had very few starts last season.

Wednesday 17th
Another Argentinean joins the scouting team as Walter Farias comes on board. He is an astute judge of playing ability and is a good addition to the team.


August 2002

Saturday 24th
Having spent a very frustrating summer in the transfer market, we finally seal a deal on the eve of the transfer window closing. 22-year-old defensive midfielder Antonio Jesús Vazquez (Jesús) has agreed terms after a €1M bid was accepted by Tenerife. Jesús can play left, right or centre and his versatility should prove useful.

Sunday 25th
Our first game of the new season is against newly promoted C.D. Béjar Industrial. It is a long journey to Béjar, a small city in the province of Salamanca, and I am not sure what to expect in terms of the strength of their team. The match is fairly well balanced and there is no score at half time. A goal scored from the penalty spot by Diego MartÃ*n and Juan's first ever goal for the club gives us a solid 2-0 win. Midfielder Diego suffers a dead leg and will be out for a week.

Wednesday 28th
Next up is a home game against Langreo, a D2B Group 1 team, in the Spanish Cup Preliminary Round. Once again the teams were evenly matched but goals from Diego MartÃ*n and Rodri either side of half time gave us a 2-0 lead. The visitors pulled a goal back near the end but we held on for a 2-1 win.


September 2002

Sunday 1st
September got underway with a visit by Lanzarote. Last season they were playing in Group 1 so we have never played them before. This was a fairly staid encounter with neither side able to establish much in the way of attacking fluency. The stalemate was broken when the visitors scored with 20 minutes remaining. We could find no reply and suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat. Matters weren't helped by an injury to Diego MartÃ*n that will keep him out for 3 weeks.

Sunday 8th
We made the short trip along to coast to Almeria for our next match. Our opponents were relegated from the Second Division last season so once again we face an unknown quantity. The home side enjoyed slightly more of the ball but two goals from Orife, the second from the penalty spot, gave us a very satisfactory 2-0 win. José Luis is carrying on where he left off last season and is playing very well. New signing Jesús looks very impressive in the key anchor position in front of the back two and Carlos Rivera, wearing the captain's armband, is doing well in midfield.

Monday 9th
Coach Aitor Arregui has accepted an offer from Sporting Gijon and left the club today. We received €55K in compensation and I already have my eye on a replacement coach.

Friday 13th
Rogelio Sukunza joined the coaching staff today. The 39-year-old joined from amateur club Colloto. The coaching team are all in their mid to late 30's and I feel that we have a strong set of coaches now. The players seem to be benefiting and I can see real improvements in their overall play.

Sunday 15th
Our next match was against Algeciras at home. Last season we beat them at their own stadium but lost to them at home. I hoped that the home defeat would not be repeated today. Despite having more of the ball and creating more chances, we went into the half time break 2-0 down. We worked hard in the second half to salvage something Orife got us back into the game with half an hour remaining. Only the woodwork denied him a second goal but we couldn't find an equaliser and the game ended 2-1 to the visitors.

Sunday 22nd
We travelled 60 kilometres or so North to Guadix to take on the local team who were promoted last season. They have been struggling so far and are near the foot of the table with just a single point. It was a very frustrating evening as, despite dominating possession and creating a hatful of chances we went into the break a goal down. Our hosts scored totally against the run of play and fought very hard to stay in front. We finally got an equaliser through Orife 10 minutes from the end but couldn't find the winner that we deserved. The 1-1 draw was two points dropped as far as I was concerned.

Sunday 29th
The month ended with a visit from another promoted team, Dos Hermanas. In contrast to our previous opponents, they are doing well and sit 5th in the table, just a couple of points off the playoff places. This was another immensely frustrating match. Diego MartÃ*n returned from injury and made his presence know by opening the scoring. But we failed to kill the game off, despite having lots of chances to do so, and the visitors equalised in the 89th minute. Another 1-1 draw in a game that we should have won comfortably.

retired_amyslack

October 2002

Sunday 6th
The month started with an away game against Cuidad de Murcia. We were undefeated against them last season, with a home draw and an away win to our credit. Playing some of our best football of the season so far, 2 goals from Orife and one from Diego MartÃ*n gave us a 3-goal lead. I was a bit disappointed that we let our hosts back into the match as they scored twice late on, but the 3-2 win was welcome nonetheless.

Thursday 10th
I have decided to strengthen the Physio team and with that in mind, 39-year-old Alejandro Saavedra joins the team.

Sunday 13th
Newly-promoted Deportivo B visited for our next game and we put in another very good performance to gain a 2-0 victory. Given the number of chances we created we should have had more than the goals from PÃ*a and Orife to show for our pressure.

Saturday 19th
We have our first injury problem for several weeks as Juan bruises a thigh in training and will miss 10 days.

Sunday 20th
We made the journey to Sevilla to face possibly our toughest test of the season so far - a game against second-placed Betis B. Our hosts are undefeated thus far but our 4-1 home win over them last season gives us some hope of achieving a result. Our excellent form continued with a 2-1 win. Despite falling behind shortly after the restart, two goals in quick succession from Diego MartÃ*n gave us the points. We defended well throughout and created at twice the chances that our hosts did. We are now unbeaten in our last 5 league games and sit just a point outside the playoff places.

Tuesday 22nd
Our key defensive midfielder Jesús will was sidelined for 3 weeks with a shoulder injury sustained during a training session. This is a real blow as he has been in superb form since his arrival.

Sunday 27th
For the visit of Cueta we had to make an enforced change to the team. Carlos Rivera dropped back to the anchor position and the unsettled José Miguel Zurita came in to central midfield. Juan was fit enough to return to the bench following his minor injury. Both of our games against the visitors last season ended tied at 2-2 so it looked like being a close game. Despite a fine performance by Zurita, history repeats itself and we get another 2-2 draw. Given that José Masegosa and Diego MartÃ*n had given us a 2-goal lead I was particularly disappointed not to get the win.

Thursday 31st
We suffered another injury in training when Sergio Larreina bruised his ribs and was out for 10 days.

All in all it has been a good few weeks in the league, but it could have been much better. We have drawn 3 games that we should have won, and the 6 points dropped have kept us out of the playoff places.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Saturday 2nd November 2002********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Sevilla B 10 5 0 0 17 6 3 0 2 8 7 24 2nd Cádiz 10 4 0 1 8 3 3 0 2 8 6 21 3rd Algeciras 10 2 2 1 7 5 4 1 0 7 2 21 4th Betis B 10 4 0 1 10 4 2 2 1 13 10 20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Lanzarote 10 3 1 1 8 3 2 2 1 7 5 18 6th MOTRIL 10 1 2 2 6 6 4 1 0 10 4 18 7th Dos Hermanas 10 3 1 1 7 5 2 1 2 7 5 17 8th Melilla 10 3 1 1 8 4 2 1 2 6 7 17 9th Pájara Playas 10 2 1 2 6 5 2 2 1 9 8 15 10th Béjar Ind. 10 3 1 1 8 3 1 1 3 5 6 14 11th Ceuta 10 2 2 1 13 9 1 2 2 8 9 13 12th DÃ*ter Zafra 10 1 2 2 5 7 2 1 2 4 5 12 13th Deportivo B 10 2 1 2 11 11 1 1 3 5 8 11 14th AlmerÃ*a 10 3 1 1 8 6 0 1 4 4 10 11 15th Málaga B 10 3 0 2 11 10 0 1 4 7 15 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Ciudad de Murcia 10 1 0 4 4 9 2 0 3 4 10 9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Horadada 10 1 2 2 4 6 1 0 4 4 6 8 18th Alfaro 10 0 2 3 5 11 1 2 2 6 10 7 19th Baskonia 10 0 1 4 2 10 1 3 1 3 6 7 20th Guadix 10 1 2 2 3 6 0 0 5 4 12 5</pre>

retired_amyslack

November 2002

Sunday 3rd
We started the month with a trip to Cadiz and I expected a tough match against the team currently second in the table. Our record against them last season was good, as we beat them home and away without conceding a goal. We played quite poorly in a very disjointed match and we lost our unbeaten record against our hosts courtesy of a penalty midway through the second half. I was disappointed in our attacking play as we failed to get a shot on target all night.

Sunday 10th
Newly-promoted Baskonia visited Motril for our next match. They are struggling at this level and our scouting suggests that they should not cause us any great problems. A 2-0 scoreline, with goals from Orife and PÃ*a, did not adequately reflect our total dominance. We peppered their goal with shots and headers, but bad luck, desperate defending and poor finishing combined to keep the score respectable. To make things worse, Abraham suffered a foot injury resulting in a two-week layoff.

Sunday 17th
Next up was a trip to another team struggling at a higher level of football as we visit Horadada. Despite the home side playing with 10 men for two thirds of the match, a 0-0 stalemate ensues. The Horadada keeper denied us with a string of fine saves, but we really should have been able to break down their defence. Our inability to turn draws into wins is costing us too many points and is keeping us out of the all-important playoff places.

Sunday 24th
The Malaga B team were next to visit the Escribano Castilla. With a win and a draw against them last season, I hoped that we could maintain our unbeaten record today. Jesús was back in the side and took up his anchor position. Carlos Rivera moved back to central midfield and José Masegosa dropped to the bench to allow Zurita to keep his place in the starting lineup. Zurita was disappointing last season, but he has played very well since he came into the team a month ago. The match had a very familiar, and very unwelcome, pattern. We dominated the game, created list of chances that we failed to convert, and fell behind to a sucker goal. Fortunately, goals by Zurita, Xavi Comas and Diego MartÃ*n rescued the situation, and we recorded a 3-1 win. I lost count of our scoring attempts and better finishing would have seen us win by a landslide. We also had 2 strong penalty appeals turned down by an unsympathetic referee.

Monday 25th
An unfortunate training ground accident put Jesús back on the injured list and his bruised shin meant a 10-day layoff.

Our unbeaten run continued but we were still not able to get into the top four.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Sunday 1st December 2002********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Sevilla B 15 7 0 0 22 8 4 0 4 11 13 33 2nd Cádiz 14 6 0 1 10 3 4 0 3 12 10 30 3rd Algeciras 14 2 4 1 9 7 6 1 0 11 2 29 4th Betis B 14 5 1 1 12 5 3 3 1 19 13 28 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Lanzarote 14 5 1 1 15 6 3 3 1 9 6 28 6th MOTRIL 14 3 2 2 11 7 4 2 1 10 5 25 7th Ceuta 14 4 2 1 18 10 2 2 3 14 17 22 8th Melilla 14 3 2 2 9 6 3 1 3 9 11 21 9th AlmerÃ*a 14 4 1 2 12 10 2 1 4 7 10 20 10th DÃ*ter Zafra 14 3 2 2 9 7 2 3 2 5 6 20 11th Málaga B 15 6 0 2 19 13 0 1 6 8 20 19 12th Pájara Playas 14 3 1 3 9 8 2 2 3 9 10 18 13th Dos Hermanas 14 3 1 3 9 11 2 2 3 10 9 18 14th Béjar Ind. 14 3 2 2 11 8 2 1 4 9 9 18 15th Deportivo B 15 3 1 4 15 18 1 2 4 6 10 15 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Horadada 14 1 4 2 4 6 2 0 5 6 8 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Guadix 15 2 2 3 6 9 1 1 6 13 19 12 18th Alfaro 14 1 3 3 10 15 1 2 4 6 14 11 19th Ciudad de Murcia 14 1 0 6 4 12 2 0 5 5 16 9 20th Baskonia 14 0 1 6 3 13 1 3 3 3 9 7</pre>