retired_amyslack

December 2002

Sunday 1st
December began with a trip to Diter Zafra and a good result was important to maintain our league momentum. Last season we had a win and a draw against tonight's opponents and I wanted to keep up or good record. At the end of the evening I was grateful that a goal from José Masegosa gave us a 1-1 draw as PÃ*a was stupidly dismissed for dissent following an early booking. We had words after the game and he was not happy with the official warning that I felt was necessary.

Sunday 8th
PÃ*a was suspended for our home game against Melilla, but Jesús was fit enough to come back into the starting lineup. Once again we did not lose to our opponents last season and I was anxious for a win tonight to keep up our challenge. But this was another frustrating night as we dominated play, created most of the scoring chances, but still failed to get a win. In fact, having fallen behind to a goal against the run of play, we needed a goal from Orife to get a 1-1 draw. Bad luck in front of goal, the visiting keeper and the woodwork all conspired against us. We were now 5 points away from the top four thanks to our frequent failure to kill off games.

Wednesday 11th
We were back into Cup action tonight as we visited D2B side Zamora for our First Round match. They play in Group 1 so we have not been up against them before. Zurita and Carlos Rivera were rested on the bench as they still looked tired from the weekend. We were forced to make an early change as Victor limped off injured and was replace by Abraham. The home side had a man dismissed on the stroke of half time but we played quite poorly and failed to take advantage of our extra man. We went behind with 20 minutes remaining and never really threatened to get back into the game. So a 1-0 defeat meant that our cup adventure was over for another season. Victor's knee injury meant a 3-week layoff, which was unfortunate as he had been playing well on the right of midfield.

Sunday 15th
The visit of struggling Alfaro to the Escribano Castilla gave us an ideal opportunity to get back to winning ways. A solitary goal from Diego MartÃ*n was enough for the win as, for once, we didn't fall behind and we held on to a lead. Poor finishing meant that the final score flattered the visitors, but at least we managed to get full points for a change.

Monday 16th
Orife's recent performances have not been quite up to scratch and he has attracted some criticism from the local media. However, I made a point of publicly supporting him as I am sure that his good from will return before too long.

Tuesday 17th
With the transfer window now re-opened we have managed to get a backup keeper in on loan. Oviedo have agreed to let Fernando Maestro (GK, 28, Spanish) join us for the rest of the season. Our current backup Burgos is very unhappy and he blames me for his lack of starting opportunities. But with José Luis in such good form there is no way that I can give Burgos a regular start.

Thursday 19th
We journeyed to Sevilla for our final game before the winter break and I fully expected a very testing examination by the league leaders. Zurita gave us an unexpected lead but our hosts struck back twice to gain a 2-1 win. We had what looked like a valid equaliser disallowed but in truth Sevilla B deserved their win as they created a lot more chances that we did.

Friday 20th
Club captain Carlos Rivera has agreed a new 3-year contract.

Monday 23rd
We have accepted an offer of €50K for the unsettled Burgos from Second Division Real Valldolid. His contract will expire in 6 months anyway, so it is best to get what we can now. He has agreed terms and has now left the club.

Our last defeat means that we have now dropped down to 7th place and are 6 points out of the playoff places. We really need to put together a run of wins if we are to make a realistic challenge for promotion.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Thursday 19th December 2002********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Sevilla B 18 8 1 0 25 10 5 0 4 17 16 40 2nd Betis B 18 6 2 1 16 8 5 3 1 25 16 38 3rd Cádiz 18 8 0 1 16 3 4 2 3 15 13 38 4th Algeciras 18 4 4 1 15 8 6 2 1 13 8 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Lanzarote 18 7 1 1 20 8 3 4 2 9 8 35 6th Ceuta 18 6 2 1 24 13 3 2 4 17 19 31 7th MOTRIL 18 4 3 2 13 8 4 3 2 12 8 30 8th AlmerÃ*a 18 5 2 2 15 12 3 1 5 12 14 27 9th Dos Hermanas 18 4 1 4 12 14 3 2 4 15 13 24 10th Pájara Playas 18 3 3 3 12 11 3 3 3 11 11 24 11th Béjar Ind. 18 3 4 2 13 10 3 2 4 14 13 24 12th Melilla 18 3 3 3 13 13 3 3 3 11 13 24 13th DÃ*ter Zafra 18 3 3 3 10 9 2 5 2 7 8 23 14th Málaga B 18 6 1 2 21 15 0 2 7 11 24 21 15th Alfaro 18 3 3 3 18 17 1 3 5 7 16 18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Deportivo B 18 3 2 4 17 20 1 2 6 9 17 16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Horadada 18 1 6 2 5 7 2 1 6 7 10 16 18th Guadix 18 2 3 4 9 13 1 1 7 15 22 13 19th Ciudad de Murcia 18 1 0 8 7 19 2 1 6 7 22 10 20th Baskonia 18 0 1 8 6 20 1 3 5 4 16 7</pre>

retired_amyslack

January 2003

Friday 3rd
Orife has agreed a new 2-year contract with the club.

Sunday 12th
I have spent the winter break trying to strengthen the squad by bringing in players on loan and by offering trials to a number of free agents, all to no avail. It seems that there are very few players prepared to give it a go at Motril, so if we are to break into the Second Division, it will have to be with the squad that we currently have. So it's back into league action with a home game against Pajara Playas. They played in Group 1 last season and reached the promotion playoffs where they just missed out on goal difference. I was therefore very pleased with our 1-0 win courtesy of Diego MartÃ*n's 10th goal of the season.

Sunday 19th
This evening we had a second consecutive home game as Béjar Industrial visit. We beat them 2-0 in our opening game of the season so we ought to be capable of getting a win at home. As is often the case we struggled to turn chances into goals and we had to wait until midway through the second half before Diego MartÃ*n opened the scoring. Luis Miguel Carrión gave us a second 8 minutes from time, but limped off injured moments later. The visitors got a late consolation but a 2-1 win gave us another 3 points. Carrión has a knee injury that means he will be out for 2 weeks.

Sunday 26th
For the visit to Lanzarote the absence of Luis Miguel Carrión causes us a bit of a problem as we are short of naturally left-footed players. After some experimentation with alternatives, I finally decided to ask Abraham to play out of position again in the left side of out defensive midfield line. We arrived at Arrecife with our hosts two points and two places above us so a win would list us very close to the top four. We survived a strong penalty appeal early in the game and an even first half ended scoreless. To my delight Diego MartÃ*n put us into the lead with 20 minutes remaining but two minutes later our hosts equalised and we had to settle for yet another 1-1 draw.

With 6 points separating the top 7 teams, it is still very possible for us to secure a playoff place. Indeed, had we converted a few of our 7 drawn games into wins, we would probably be top of the table by now.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Friday 31st January 2003********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Betis B 21 6 4 1 18 10 6 3 1 31 19 43 2nd Cádiz 21 8 1 2 17 8 5 2 3 18 14 42 3rd Sevilla B 21 8 1 1 25 11 5 0 6 20 24 40 4th Algeciras 21 4 4 2 16 11 7 3 1 16 10 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Lanzarote 21 7 2 1 21 9 4 4 3 12 10 39 6th Ceuta 21 8 2 1 30 13 3 3 4 19 21 38 7th MOTRIL 21 6 3 2 16 9 4 4 2 13 9 37 8th AlmerÃ*a 21 6 2 2 17 12 4 1 6 13 15 33 9th Dos Hermanas 21 5 1 4 14 15 5 2 4 23 14 33 10th DÃ*ter Zafra 21 5 3 3 12 9 3 5 2 10 9 32 11th Pájara Playas 21 3 4 3 13 12 4 3 4 12 12 28 12th Melilla 21 4 3 4 15 16 3 3 4 11 15 27 13th Béjar Ind. 21 4 4 2 17 11 3 2 6 15 16 27 14th Málaga B 21 6 1 4 22 18 1 2 7 13 24 24 15th Alfaro 21 4 3 4 25 25 1 4 5 8 17 22 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Horadada 21 2 7 2 7 8 2 1 7 8 12 20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Deportivo B 21 3 2 5 18 23 1 3 7 9 20 17 18th Ciudad de Murcia 21 2 0 8 10 21 2 2 7 7 25 14 19th Guadix 21 2 3 5 9 15 1 1 9 17 26 13 20th Baskonia 21 1 1 9 9 25 1 3 6 6 19 10</pre>

retired_amyslack

February 2003

The transfer window is now closed for the remainder of the season so we are relying on our existing squad to see us through. The most critical thing is to avoid any injuries to key players. Jesús has been outstanding since his arrival and Zurita has been a revelation since he came into the starting lineup. Club Captain Carlos Rivera is playing an important role in midfield and Carrión, Usta and Victor are all playing well in defence.

Sunday 2nd
An important month in our league campaign started with a visit from Almeria, the team just below us in the table. We put in a very flat and lifeless performance and a goal in each half from the visitors condemned us to a poor 2-0 defeat.

Sunday 9th
José Luis looked very uncertain in our defeat last week so I have decided to give loan signing Fernando Maestro his first start. We have travelled to 4th placed Algeciras and I feel that a win is very important to get our momentum going. We have lost our last two league games against our opponents and we need to break that streak this evening. It was an even contest but once again we failed to find an attacking spark and the game ended scoreless. Maestro played well enough to keep his starting place, but with the exception of Jesús, no one else played particularly well.

Monday 10th
Abraham will be out for 10 days after he suffered a bruised shin in training. Fortunately, Carrión should be fit enough to be back in the team for the next match.

Tuesday 11th
There was another injury in training today as Juan fell awkwardly and strained his wrist. He will be out for a week or so.

Sunday 16th
The visit of bottom club Guadix gave us an excellent chance to gat a win under our belt, something that we badly need to boost our morale. However, I still have unhappy memories of our trip there earlier in the season where we threw away 2 points by drawing a game that we should have won. We reached half time 2-0 ahead thanks to a double from Diego MartÃ*n. However, we had also hit the woodwork twice and had a penalty saved and I was worried that this would come back to haunt us. Fortunately, 2 further goals from Zurita and PÃ*a made the game safe. Our 4-0 win was hugely welcome and it lifts us up one place to 6th, but we are still 4 points away from the playoffs.

Sunday 23rd
We have travelled to Dos Hermanas anxious to capitalise on our good result last weekend. Our hosts held us to a 1-1 draw when they visited us earlier in the season. I am becoming more convinced each week that we are fated to miss out on the playoffs once more this season. We dominated the match, created lots of scoring chances, but still ended up with an almost inevitable 1-1 draw. Dos Hermanas took the lead, totally against the run of play but a late goal from Diego MartÃ*n salvaged a point. What does it take for us to get a run of wins going?

Wednesday 26th
Javier Guerra was sidelined for 10 days after he suffered a badly bruised thigh after an over-enthusiastic tackle in training today.

I have been trying very hard not to let my negative feelings regarding our chances of making the playoffs transmit themselves to the players, but I have not been entirely successful. Spirits are quite low, despite the best attempts of my coaching staff to keep everyone positive and focused. We are still in 7th place, 4 points away from a top four place and we somehow need to get a winning streak going.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Saturday 1st March 2003********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Betis B 25 8 4 1 23 13 8 3 1 36 22 55 2nd Ceuta 25 10 2 1 36 15 4 4 4 21 22 48 3rd Cádiz 25 9 1 3 21 12 6 2 4 20 17 48 4th Sevilla B 25 9 1 2 27 12 6 0 7 21 27 46 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Algeciras 25 4 5 3 17 13 8 3 2 18 13 44 6th Lanzarote 25 8 2 2 23 11 4 5 4 12 12 43 7th MOTRIL 25 7 3 3 20 11 4 6 2 14 10 42 8th DÃ*ter Zafra 25 7 3 3 17 9 4 5 3 13 14 41 9th Pájara Playas 25 5 4 3 17 12 6 3 4 15 13 40 10th AlmerÃ*a 25 7 2 3 18 13 5 1 7 15 18 39 11th Melilla 25 6 3 4 19 17 5 3 4 15 17 39 12th Dos Hermanas 25 6 2 4 18 16 5 3 5 25 17 38 13th Béjar Ind. 25 5 5 2 19 12 3 2 8 15 18 31 14th Málaga B 25 7 2 4 26 20 2 2 8 18 28 31 15th Horadada 25 3 7 3 9 10 3 1 8 11 16 26 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Alfaro 25 4 4 5 25 26 1 4 7 10 21 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Deportivo B 25 3 2 7 21 28 1 3 9 10 26 17 18th Guadix 25 3 3 6 13 17 1 1 11 17 33 16 19th Ciudad de Murcia 25 2 0 10 12 26 2 2 9 7 28 14 20th Baskonia 25 2 1 10 14 28 1 3 8 8 23 13</pre>

retired_amyslack

March 2003

Sunday 2nd
The visit of struggling Ciudad de Murcia presented us with an ideal opportunity to get the month off to a winning start. The team delivered a sparkling first half display in which we managed the unusual feat of putting away most of our chances. Two goals from Diego MartÃ*n and one each from PÃ*a and Usta gave us a 4-0 lead at the break. In the second half I asked the players to preserve their energies and just get men behind the ball. The remainder of the game was incident free and that suited me just fine. The only negative was a booking for Usta that means he will miss our next match.

Wednesday 5th
A rare midweek game had us making the long journey to La Coruna to tackle Deportivo B. At the extreme northwest of the country, this was just about the furthest we could possibly travel and we had to dig deep into our dwindling bank account to travel by air. Our hosts are rather unexpectedly struggling considering some of the talent they have available, and I desperately hope that our trip will be worth it. Both teams were intent on attacking and chances were created at both ends. Goals from Orife and Diego MartÃ*n gave us a 2-0 lead before Deportivo B pulled one back. A goal from Zurita before half time restored out 2-goal advantage and PÃ*a made it 4-1 not long after the restart. I was frantically signalling that we should start to defend in numbers and hold on to our lead. Thankfully, the players responded as I had requested and we banked 3 very valuable points.

Sunday 9th
Morale has certainly been lifted by our two consecutive wins and we will need to be at our absolute best to keep our run going as league leaders Betis B come visiting. We beat them 2-1 in Betis back in October in what was probably our best performance of the season so far. We will need to put in another high-quality display to take anything from tonight's contest. There must be something about playing Betis that brings out the best in the team. Despite falling behind after just 3 minutes, a brilliant double from Diego MartÃ*n gave us a superb 2-1 win. We outplayed the league leaders and fully deserved the win, breaking their streak of 17 games unbeaten into the bargain.

Sunday 16th
Our next match involved a journey across the Straits of Gibraltar as we headed to North Africa to play Cueta. This was another big match as our hosts are currently 3rd in the table. I was really keen to try to keep our momentum going, ideally with a good win. I decided to rest Xavi Comas and give Juan a start, as the loan signing was starting to look a little jaded. I was absolutely delighted with our standard of play and we dominated the game. Zurita was in sparkling form and seemed determined to win the game on his own in the first half after he opened the scoring early on. A brace from Diego MartÃ*n after the break sealed a fine 3-0 win. Even better, this takes us into the top 4 for the first time this season.

Sunday 23rd
Our run of tough games continues with the visit of second-placed Cadiz who beat us 1-0 in a very tight contest on their own ground in November. Our injury-free spell has continued and I am able to field an unchanged side. Our confidence is high and I am reasonably hopeful that we can get another good result tonight. My mood is only improved when the visitors had a man sent off after 10 minutes. I am even happier when two more goals from the in-form Diego MartÃ*n gave us a 2-0 lead at half time. He is denied his hat trick in the second half by an offside decision - a real disappointment as he deserved the honour. The ten men pulled a goal back near the end to give us an anxious few minutes, but we held on for a 2-1 win. Our 5th straight league win has now moved us to second place, going above Cadiz on goal difference.

Sunday 30th
We closed out the month with a visit to struggling Baskonia and, if there is any justice in the world, we should extend our winning streak tonight. It's amazing the difference that a bit of confidence brings to a team and we simply blew our opponents away. Diego MartÃ*n opened the scoring to notch his 25th of the season. Carlos Rivera then scored a very rare goal and Orife made it three. Diego MartÃ*n completed his hat trick before half time and we went into the break 5-0 ahead. We just shut up shop in the second half and travelled back to Motril in jubilant mood.

Six straight wins this month, including three over teams above us in the league, have seen us storm up the table. This was exactly what we required and the mood in the team is now totally transformed compared to the end of last month. I have to pay tribute to the coaches who have worked tirelessly to keep the players spirits up and it's great to see their efforts paying off.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Wednesday 2nd April 2003********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Betis B 31 11 4 1 34 16 9 3 3 40 27 67 2nd MOTRIL 31 10 3 3 28 13 7 6 2 26 11 60 3rd Cádiz 31 12 1 3 28 16 7 2 6 24 21 60 4th Ceuta 31 10 3 3 38 22 6 5 4 28 27 56 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Pájara Playas 31 8 4 3 23 14 8 3 5 21 19 55 6th Lanzarote 31 11 2 2 28 11 5 5 6 16 15 55 7th Sevilla B 31 10 2 3 31 16 6 1 9 26 34 51 8th Algeciras 31 5 6 4 18 16 9 3 4 20 19 51 9th DÃ*ter Zafra 31 8 4 4 19 11 5 7 3 18 18 50 10th Dos Hermanas 31 8 2 5 24 18 6 3 7 30 22 47 11th Melilla 31 8 4 4 29 20 5 4 6 16 22 47 12th AlmerÃ*a 31 8 2 5 22 19 5 3 8 17 23 44 13th Béjar Ind. 31 7 5 3 23 14 4 3 9 19 25 41 14th Alfaro 31 6 4 6 36 33 3 5 7 15 22 36 15th Málaga B 31 7 4 5 33 28 3 2 10 26 37 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Horadada 31 3 8 5 11 16 4 2 9 15 20 31 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Deportivo B 31 5 2 8 28 34 1 4 11 10 33 24 18th Guadix 31 3 5 7 14 20 1 1 14 17 36 18 19th Baskonia 31 3 1 12 15 34 1 4 10 12 33 17 20th Ciudad de Murcia 31 2 2 11 17 32 2 2 12 7 35 16</pre>

retired_amyslack

April 2003

Wednesday 2nd
A make-or-break month started with a rare midweek encounter at home to struggling Horadada and an excellent opportunity to extend our winning streak. After an hour I could feel our season threatening to unravel as we were a goal down and had lost star player Jesús through injury. But late goals from Orife and Diego MartÃ*n gave us a 2-1 win and three points. Thankfully the injury to Jesús wasn't too serious - a bruised thigh keeps him out for 10 days.

Sunday 6th
We made the short trip to Malaga to face their B team tonight and our opponents sit just above the relegation places. With Jesús out, Carlos Rivera dropped back to the anchor position and Abraham came into midfield. José Luis has been brought back into the starting lineup and Fernando Maestro moved to the bench. This was a prime example of a game of two halves. We dominated the first period and a brace from Diego MartÃ*n took his tally to 30 for the season. In the second half our hosts were transformed and pressured us non-stop. However, we stayed solid at the back and managed to hold our lead for a 2-0 win.

Wednesday 9th
The season has ended prematurely for José Masegosa as a bad ankle injury in training has laid him off for at least 4 weeks.

Sunday 13th
Diter Zafra are the latest visitors to the Escribano Castilla. They still have a faint hope of making the top four so I expected a hard match. That was exactly how things turned out and there was little to choose between the two sides. Neither attack could find a way through two determined defences and the game ended in a 0-0 stalemate. There was bad news for us though, in the shape of an injury to captain Carlos Rivera. He has a badly twisted knee and will be out for 3 weeks. He should be fit for the playoffs if we manage to make it that far. Betis B guaranteed their playoff place after beating Algeciras 2-0 and the bottom three of Baskonia, Guadix and Ciudad de Murcia are all relegated.

Sunday 20th
Jesús travelled with us to Melilla and was deemed fit enough to go straight back into the team. In the absence of Carlos Rivera, the captain's armband has been passed on to the experienced PÃ*a. Our task was made a little easier with the dismissal of a home player after 15 minutes and a superb solo goal from Zurita gave us the lead before half time. But as is often the way, the 10 men worked really hard to nullify our numeric advantage and managed an equaliser with 10 minutes remaining. We switched to a more offensive formation and a last-minute goal from Diego MartÃ*n gave us a last gasp winner.

Sunday 27th
Our last game of the month was at Alfaro and a win here would almost certainly seal our playoff place. I was able to field an unchanged side and confidence was high that we would not let things slip this time. We may have been over-confident because the home side took the lead after 13 minutes and we struggled to make much impression going forward. We improved in the second half and Diego MartÃ*n looked to have equalised but was denied by an offside decision. However, our top striker would not be denied and with 30 minutes remaining he did score. The game ended 1-1 and left us uncertain if we had secured a top four place. It took some time for the news to filter through that 5th-placed Ceuta had lost 2-1 at relegated Guadix and that we could not now be overtaken by them. The journey back to Motril was a happy one indeed as we celebrated our fine achievement.

Our wonderful run of form in the last two months had now guaranteed out place in the playoffs with two league games remaining. It was a daunting thought that our season would now be extended with another 6 games but it represented a wonderful chance to progress up to the next level.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Friday 2nd May 2003********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Pl Betis B 36 13 4 1 39 17 12 3 3 49 29 82 2nd Pl MOTRIL 36 11 4 3 30 14 9 7 2 31 13 71 3rd Cádiz 36 14 1 3 34 18 8 3 7 28 25 70 4th Pájara Playas 36 11 4 3 29 16 10 3 5 26 20 70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Ceuta 36 12 3 3 40 22 6 7 5 29 29 64 6th Sevilla B 36 12 3 3 36 18 7 1 10 28 36 61 7th Lanzarote 36 11 4 3 33 17 5 5 8 18 19 57 8th Algeciras 36 6 6 6 19 19 10 3 5 22 20 57 9th Dos Hermanas 36 9 3 6 29 24 7 4 7 32 23 55 10th DÃ*ter Zafra 36 9 4 5 21 12 5 9 4 20 21 55 11th AlmerÃ*a 36 10 3 5 28 21 5 3 10 18 29 51 12th Melilla 36 9 4 5 32 23 5 4 9 17 28 50 13th Béjar Ind. 36 9 6 3 28 15 4 4 10 22 30 49 14th Alfaro 36 7 6 6 40 36 4 6 7 21 26 45 15th Málaga B 36 7 4 7 33 33 3 3 12 29 42 37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Horadada 36 4 9 5 14 18 4 3 11 17 25 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Deportivo B 36 5 2 10 29 38 2 4 13 14 40 27 18th R Guadix 36 4 6 8 16 22 1 1 16 19 40 22 19th R Ciudad de Murcia 36 4 2 12 27 40 2 2 14 7 39 22 20th R Baskonia 36 4 1 13 19 38 1 4 13 14 42 20</pre>

retired_amyslack

May 2003

Sunday 4th
Our final home game of the league proper was against Sevilla B. Our opponents had been at the top of the table for about 3 months until a bad slump in form saw them drop down the table. They had improved recently but their playoff chance had now gone so they would be playing just for pride. A virtuoso display from Zurita, who scored twice, gave us the platform for a fine 4-0 win. Orife and Usta were our other scorers in an excellent team performance. The last playoff places in our league group were decided and Pájara Playas and Cádiz will join Betis and ourselves in the battle for promotion. Cádiz have been there or thereabouts all season but it took an excellent run of form in the latter part of the season to get Pájara Playas into the top four.

Sunday 11th
Our final game of the league program was in Canada del Rio against Pájara Playas in a match that would decide second place in the table. Zurita gave us the lead early in the first half and that’s how the score stayed until half time. The home side found an equaliser within 10 minutes of the restart with one of their few attacks of any quality. We created several more chances but failed to convert them and the match ended all square at 1-1. Avoiding defeat meant that we finished second in the overall table and, in theory at least, would give us a slightly more favourable playoff group. Betis B finished top by some distance with only 4 defeats all season, but it gave me some satisfaction that two of them had been inflicted by Motril.

Monday 12th
The playoff groups have now been announced. There are 4 groups, each of which contains a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed team from one of the 4 B Divisions. Thus we were drawn with Real Union (1st in Group 2), Terrassa (3rd in Group 3) and Talavera (4th in Group 1). Of course we have never played any of these teams before but Real Union looked like a real threat, having had just 3 defeats all season. Each team is played home and away and the group winners progress to Division Two.

Sunday 18th
Our playoff campaign started with a home game against Talavera and it was essential that we got off to a winning start. My hope was that we would win our 3 home games and look to pick up a point or two on our travels. I felt that 10 or 11 points would be good enough to win the group. Carlos Rivera was now fully fit and came back into midfield and regained the captaincy and Abraham dropped back to the bench. Usta got us off to a great start when he converted the penalty awarded after Diego MartÃ*n had been scythed down in the box. Orife doubled our advantage before half time and added a third after 60 minutes. We then shut up shop, tried to conserve our energy and saw out the 3-0 win. We were off to a Winning start, as were Real Union who had a 1-0 home win over Terrassa

Tuesday 20th
With 6 tough games to be played in a relatively short period, we have been trying to balance the need to keep some training going with the desire to keep the players as relaxed as possible. It was therefore a little disappointing to lose Sergio Larreina for two weeks through a training injury. He is one of our fringe players but could still be called upon if we lose a forward.

Wednesday 21st
The downside of the playoffs is that we have to incur a lot of extra travel expense as we must make much longer journeys than usual. For our second game we have had to travel to Terrassa, which is just to the north of Barcelona in the northeast part of the country. We can field an unchanged side and this is a game that I fancy we can take something from. The first half ended scoreless with neither side registering a shot on target. The second half was equally well matched in terms of possession and chances, but once again neither keeper was seriously threatened and it finished scoreless. Talavera had a somewhat surprising 2-1 win at home to Real Union that leaves us top of the table after 2 games.

Sunday 25th
We faced another punishing journey for game 3 as we journeyed to face Real Union. They are based in Irun which is right on the Northern coast very near the French border. I see this as a key game and we can avoid defeat then we will be in really good shape with 2 home games remaining. We got off to a dreadful start, conceding a goal after just 2 minutes. However, we fought back strongly and equalised through Zurita before the break. Then Jesús scored his first ever goal for us to five us the lead with 25 minutes to go. But less than 10 minutes later it was back to all square when the home side got their second. We finished very strongly and it took several good saves from the home keeper to deny us the win. Terrassa beat Talavera to keep the group very tight but we are still on top by a point.

Wednesday 28th
For our final game on the road we have travelled to Talavera, just south of Madrid in the centre of the country. Suat Usta still looks weary after his fine performance in our last game so he was on the bench and Xavi Comas replaced him. The home side got off to a great start, opening the scoring after just 2 minutes. But within 5 minutes it was all square when Diego MartÃ*n tucked away a penalty after he had been brought down in the area. Both sides were well matched and chances were few and far between. Talavera were denied a second goal midway through the second half by an offside decision and as the clock ticked down it looked like the points would be shared. But in the last few seconds of the game Jesús ventured forward and scored a very late winner to give us an invaluable victory. With Terrassa holding Real Union to a 1-1 draw our lead at the top increased to 3 points. With our final two playoff games at home, we now had a wonderful chance to secure promotion.

retired_amyslack

June 2003

Sunday 1st
It was a beautiful summer evening as we prepared for the home game against Terrassa that could possibly seal our promotion. The game turned out to be a bit of a thriller, with end-to-end action for most of the 90 minutes. The visitors caught us cold early on and took the lead after 5 minutes. Fortunately star striker Diego MartÃ*n was on hand to equalise 10 minutes later. The teams traded opportunities, rather like two boxers standing toe-to-toe and trading punches. Half time came and went with the score still tied at 1-1. Then in the 53rd minute Jesús broke the deadlock with his second goal in two games. When Diego MartÃ*n added a third with 20 minutes remaining that seemed to be it. However, the visitors were far from finished and made the score 3-2 on 77 minutes later. This was followed by a glaring miss with our goal gaping and unguarded and I began to believe that lady luck was on our side. Diego MartÃ*n was denied a hat trick near the end when his fierce shot hit the post, but nonetheless the win was ours. Real Union kept alive their hopes of overtaking us by beating Talavera 2-0.

Sunday 8th
It was a sellout crowd at the Escribano Castilla for the visit of Real Union for the promotion showdown. Anything less than a defeat for us would see us secure our place in Division 2, but a win for the visitors could allow them to sneak past us. Fortunately all of our first choice players were fit and raring to go and confidence was high. We were determined not to blow our chances like we did at the end of last season. I nervously chain-smoked my way through the tensest 90 minutes of my managerial career, knowing that there was nothing more that I could do – it was all up to the players now. Our cause was not helped by an eccentric refereeing display by Senor Gonzalez in which he booked 7 players, disallowed 2 Diego MartÃ*n goals and denied the visitors what looked like a cast-iron penalty to me. With 9 minutes remaining, Diego MartÃ*n finally scored a goal that counted and I began to relax slightly. Zurita made it safe in the 87th minute and when Senor Gonzalez gave three long blasts on his whistle to signal the end of the game, our small stadium erupted. The tension of the recent weeks and months drained away, to be replaced by sheer uninhibited joy. I ran out on to the pitch, hugging every player I could get to. Our young Turk, Suat Usta had been a rock in the middle of defence and our two goalscorers had been outstanding. But more than anything else it had been a wonderful team effort and all of us, the players and the backroom staff, deserved to celebrate.


Wednesday 11th
It took a few days for the excitement to abate and to start to take in what we had achieved. I browsed through all of the final league tables to take stock of the ups and downs in all of the divisions.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish First Division - Wednesday 11th June 2003********************************************** *********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Barcelona 38 17 1 1 47 12 11 4 4 35 20 89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Real Madrid 38 14 5 0 44 9 11 6 2 31 16 86 3rd Athletic Bilbao 38 15 4 0 46 15 6 5 8 28 38 72 4th Betis 38 13 5 1 32 7 7 5 7 26 28 70 5th Espanyol 38 13 3 3 53 30 4 4 11 27 48 58 6th Villarreal 38 10 5 4 43 28 6 5 8 26 32 58 7th Mallorca 38 9 3 7 38 35 7 5 7 33 38 56 8th Celta 38 11 4 4 41 23 4 6 9 22 39 55 9th Atlético Madrid 38 9 9 1 23 10 4 6 9 18 24 54 10th Sevilla 38 11 6 2 36 18 3 6 10 26 35 54 11th Deportivo 38 11 2 6 35 25 4 5 10 27 39 52 12th Valencia 38 9 5 5 28 20 5 5 9 23 27 52 13th Real Sociedad 38 7 6 6 35 31 6 4 9 36 42 49 14th Tenerife 38 4 8 7 32 38 4 5 10 24 36 37 15th Zaragoza 38 5 8 6 26 23 3 4 12 15 41 36 16th Osasuna 38 6 6 7 34 32 2 5 12 17 39 35 17th Racing Santander 38 6 5 8 33 36 2 4 13 14 41 33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Xerez 38 8 4 7 27 28 0 5 14 17 39 33 19th R Málaga 38 6 2 11 29 37 2 5 12 23 42 31 20th R Alavés 38 5 8 6 28 30 1 5 13 19 46 31 ************************************************** ***************************************** Spanish Second Division - Wednesday 11th June 2003********************************************** *********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Hércules 42 17 2 2 44 16 9 5 7 39 30 85 2nd P Leganés 42 11 7 3 44 24 13 3 5 40 34 82 3rd P Rayo 42 14 3 4 36 23 7 8 6 35 37 74 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Elche 42 11 5 5 38 21 8 8 5 27 25 70 5th Burgos 42 11 7 3 39 27 8 5 8 34 36 69 6th Oviedo 42 12 5 4 41 30 6 9 6 36 34 68 7th Badajoz 42 10 8 3 26 15 8 4 9 24 25 66 8th Valladolid 42 10 5 6 31 19 6 9 6 25 25 62 9th Sporting Gijón 42 10 4 7 37 22 7 7 7 24 22 62 10th Recreativo 42 10 10 1 43 27 4 8 9 27 31 60 11th Las Palmas 42 12 5 4 31 20 5 4 12 23 37 60 12th Lleida 42 11 3 7 33 27 7 0 14 19 29 57 13th Levante 42 9 2 10 30 35 8 4 9 36 35 57 14th Córdoba 42 10 7 4 40 29 4 5 12 31 42 54 15th Cartagonova 42 12 4 5 32 22 3 4 14 16 34 53 16th Albacete 42 9 6 6 39 32 4 8 9 30 47 53 17th Salamanca 42 6 10 5 38 31 4 5 12 27 40 45 18th Murcia 42 5 9 7 26 29 5 6 10 24 38 45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19th R Numancia 42 8 3 10 34 37 3 7 11 30 47 43 20th R Compostela 42 6 10 5 25 24 1 12 8 16 25 43 21st R Ejido 42 6 3 12 26 33 1 3 17 10 39 27 22nd R Getafe 42 6 7 8 27 39 0 1 20 9 48 26 ************************************************** ***************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Wednesday 11th June 2003********************************************** *********************************************Group 1Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Ourense 38 12 7 0 37 16 10 3 6 41 32 76 2nd P Extremadura 38 11 4 4 36 18 12 2 5 28 19 75 3rd Zamora 38 11 6 2 41 21 9 3 7 32 30 69 4th Talavera 38 12 3 4 33 18 7 2 10 20 32 62 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Toledo 38 15 3 1 37 10 3 4 12 19 35 61 6th Pontevedra 38 12 3 4 34 21 5 6 8 27 36 60 7th Langreo 38 13 4 2 40 18 5 2 12 20 30 60 8th Racing B 38 10 1 8 33 24 7 5 7 29 31 57 9th Ponferradina 38 12 3 4 33 20 3 9 7 13 22 57 10th Ã�vila 38 12 3 4 32 23 4 5 10 17 29 56 11th Cultural 38 12 2 5 42 26 4 6 9 22 27 56 12th Marino 38 9 5 5 30 16 6 4 9 32 38 54 13th Avilés 38 11 4 4 38 20 4 5 10 18 25 54 14th Lugo 38 9 7 3 42 31 4 5 10 24 36 51 15th Ferrol 38 8 8 3 26 15 3 6 10 24 28 47 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Jaén 38 7 5 7 34 31 6 2 11 28 36 46 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Jerez 38 11 2 6 34 28 2 5 12 19 43 46 18th R Ribadesella 38 7 4 8 22 23 1 5 13 14 34 33 19th R Endesa As Pontes 38 4 7 8 16 19 1 2 16 8 38 24 20th R Compostela B 38 3 2 14 21 50 0 2 17 13 60 13 Group 2Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Real Unión 38 16 2 1 56 20 11 6 2 33 15 89 2nd Éibar 38 13 3 3 31 15 11 2 6 42 30 77 3rd Gernika 38 16 1 2 44 18 4 9 6 27 31 70 4th Linares 38 13 5 1 42 24 6 5 8 27 33 67 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Calahorra 38 10 6 3 38 23 9 3 7 26 26 66 6th Real Madrid B 38 13 2 4 60 33 7 2 10 33 37 64 7th Conquense 38 13 4 2 35 10 5 2 12 14 27 60 8th Alavés B 38 10 6 3 31 18 6 4 9 22 28 58 9th Logroñés 38 8 5 6 47 39 7 7 5 39 34 57 10th At. Madrid B 38 9 5 5 31 20 6 6 7 29 29 56 11th Aurrerá 38 10 6 3 34 24 4 3 12 25 42 51 12th Noja 38 8 4 7 30 27 4 7 8 23 25 47 13th Peña Sport 38 9 5 5 35 26 3 6 10 24 34 47 14th Amurrio 38 8 6 5 35 28 3 7 9 25 39 46 15th Arenas 38 6 7 6 22 22 5 4 10 25 36 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Athletic B 38 8 8 3 29 24 2 6 11 15 36 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Chantrea 38 6 7 6 28 22 3 3 13 26 45 37 18th R Alcalá 38 8 2 9 18 19 0 7 12 14 37 33 19th R Durango 38 5 7 7 31 38 1 1 17 16 54 26 20th R Aranjuez 38 1 2 16 9 46 0 3 16 11 48 8 Group 3Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Castellón 38 13 3 3 37 17 11 4 4 31 19 79 2nd P Novelda 38 12 3 4 42 23 10 5 4 43 25 74 3rd Terrassa 38 10 5 4 39 23 12 3 4 39 29 74 4th Benidorm 38 13 2 4 41 20 8 4 7 26 23 69 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Sabadell 38 12 6 1 38 21 6 4 9 28 31 64 6th Figueres 38 12 1 6 47 36 6 5 8 29 33 60 7th Palamós 38 9 6 4 29 21 7 5 7 28 28 59 8th Hospitalet 38 11 4 4 44 26 4 4 11 24 41 53 9th Reus 38 10 4 5 37 29 5 4 10 25 32 53 10th Gramanet 38 10 4 5 42 27 5 4 10 31 36 53 11th Barakaldo 38 10 7 2 29 22 2 9 8 18 23 52 12th Binéfar 38 8 4 7 35 37 6 3 10 31 36 49 13th Mallorca B 38 5 4 10 29 41 6 8 5 37 35 45 14th Nástic 38 5 5 9 26 31 7 4 8 39 43 45 15th Mataró 38 8 3 8 36 33 5 3 11 36 43 45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th At. Baleares 38 7 4 8 19 19 6 2 11 26 34 45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Europa 38 6 6 7 19 22 5 4 10 21 34 43 18th R Orihuela 38 6 5 8 41 41 4 2 13 22 47 37 19th R Valencia B 38 7 1 11 31 53 3 4 12 26 50 35 20th R Barcelona C 38 3 7 9 21 30 1 3 15 12 40 22 Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Betis B 38 14 4 1 42 17 12 4 3 50 30 86 2nd P MOTRIL 38 12 4 3 34 14 9 8 2 32 14 75 3rd P Pájara Playas 38 11 5 3 30 17 11 3 5 29 21 74 4th Cádiz 38 14 2 3 34 18 8 4 7 31 28 72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Ceuta 38 13 3 3 43 23 7 7 5 31 29 70 6th Lanzarote 38 12 4 3 35 18 6 5 8 22 20 63 7th Sevilla B 38 12 4 3 38 20 7 1 11 28 40 62 8th Algeciras 38 6 7 6 20 20 11 3 5 24 21 61 9th DÃ*ter Zafra 38 10 4 5 25 13 5 9 5 21 23 58 10th Dos Hermanas 38 9 4 6 32 27 7 4 8 33 26 56 11th AlmerÃ*a 38 11 3 5 32 22 5 4 10 19 30 55 12th Béjar Ind. 38 10 6 3 29 15 4 4 11 23 34 52 13th Melilla 38 9 4 6 33 26 5 4 10 17 29 50 14th Alfaro 38 7 6 6 40 36 4 8 7 26 31 47 15th Horadada 38 4 10 5 15 19 4 4 11 18 26 38 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th R Málaga B 38 7 4 8 34 37 3 3 13 30 46 37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th R Deportivo B 38 5 4 10 33 42 2 4 13 14 40 29 18th R Guadix 38 5 6 8 21 26 1 2 16 19 40 26 19th R Ciudad de Murcia 38 4 2 13 27 42 2 2 15 7 42 22 20th R Baskonia 38 4 1 14 20 40 1 4 14 18 47 20 Promotion Group APos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Novelda 6 3 0 0 11 5 2 0 1 4 2 15 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Zamora 6 2 0 1 5 4 2 0 1 6 3 12 3rd Betis B 6 2 0 1 5 4 1 0 2 6 10 9 4th Linares 6 0 0 3 2 6 0 0 3 3 8 0 Promotion Group BPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Pájara Playas 6 1 2 0 4 2 1 2 0 4 3 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Benidorm 6 1 1 1 5 4 1 1 1 6 6 8 3rd Éibar 6 1 1 1 5 5 1 1 1 4 5 8 4th Ourense 6 1 1 1 5 5 0 1 2 2 5 5 Promotion Group CPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P MOTRIL 6 3 0 0 8 2 1 2 0 4 3 14 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Real Unión 6 2 1 0 5 2 0 1 2 2 5 8 3rd Talavera 6 2 0 1 7 4 0 0 3 0 7 6 4th Terrassa 6 1 2 0 3 1 0 0 3 3 8 5 Promotion Group DPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Extremadura 6 2 1 0 4 2 3 0 0 9 3 16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Cádiz 6 2 0 1 5 4 0 2 1 2 4 8 3rd Castellón 6 1 1 1 4 6 1 0 2 3 5 7 4th Gernika 6 1 0 2 5 5 0 0 3 3 6 3</pre>


Sunday 15th
With the players all taking a well-deserved rest after a tough season, I met with the coaches to discuss our preparations for the forthcoming season in a new Division. We all fully expected a tough time moving up a level and we agreed that we had to try to strengthen the playing staff, although with out poor financial position that would be far from easy. I was not yet prepared to use the funds that remained from my lottery windfall – that was being saved in case our situation became too desperate. We agreed that some of this season’s top performers should be capable of stepping up a level, but most of the squad would probably struggle. Jesús, Diego MartÃ*n, Suat Usta, José Miguel Zurita, Victor and Carlos Rivera had all played consistently well. Luis Miguel Carrión, Rodolfo Andrés Orife and José Luis had also played well but the remainder of the squad were not really good enough. We certainly needed a backup keeper, and I really wanted to strengthen the defence. So armed with a shopping list of likely prospects, the scouts and myself started the search for cheap talent that would like to join us

Sunday 22nd
Diego MartÃ*n was voted the Supporter’s Player of the year. This caps a wonderful season for him, as he was also the top scorer in Division 2B with 36 goals. We have also negotiated new contracts with Zurita and Victor in light of their good performances this season.

Sunday 29th
Youngster Alexis has been released at the end of his contract as we could see no future for him at the club. Good news on the playing front as we have secured the services of several players on season-long loans. We are joined by Juan Ugarte (22, Spanish F C) from Real Sociedad, Javier Musa (24, Argentinean, SW/D C) and Oscar Jornet (25, Spanish, D C), both from Badajoz.

retired_amyslack

July 2003

Wednesday 2nd
Another loan signing has been secured as Roberto Fernandez Alverellos (24, Spanish, GK) arrives from Sporting Gijon. Roberto, as he is known, will be a useful backup for José Luis, and if he shapes up he may well make a starting slot.

Sunday 6th
We have accepted an offer of €22K from La Baneza for Cristian Iván Murúa as the young midfielder is surplus to our plans. We have also heard that there are several teams chasing Juan Antonia Leal for their coaching staff. He has been invaluable since we switched him from the scouting team so I have made a counter-offer to see if we can keep him. I am not hopeful as his wage demands were much higher than I was prepared to pay and I don’t think that he will accept our offer.

Thursday 10th
José Antonio Mateos has contacted me to let me know that he has decided to retire. The 33-year-old knows that he is unlikely to get many playing opportunities and wants to look for work outside the game.

Friday 11th
As I suspected, Juan Antonia Leal has rejected my offer and he will shortly take up a coaching position at Second Division Malaga. I wish him well and look forward to meeting him in the league later this season.

Saturday 12th
It looks like we may lose another coach as Hector Gil has received an offer from Badajoz. I have made a counter-offer as Hector is a very gifted coach, but once again I feel that I may not be able to offer enough money.

Monday 14th
My fears regarding Hector Gil were realised as he refused our offer and leaves the club.


August 2003

As the month progressed we gradually stepped up the intensity of the training sessions to ensure that the players returned to full fitness after their well-deserved summer break. Our financial situation is now much healthier as season ticket sales have picked up in anticipation of playing at a higher level. But with a stadium that can hold only 6,000 we will undoubtedly struggle to balance our budget. It will help that we are not paying any wages for our loan signings but we will face increased travel costs. We now play in national division rather than a regional one. This will necessitate flying to more games rather than being able to travel by coach, which will obviously be more expensive.

Saturday 16th
Another player has arrived on long-term loan. Pablo Box (24, Spanish M RC) has arrived from Villarreal for the rest of the season. We now have 5 players in on loan and it is proving to be the most effective way to strengthen the playing staff.

Sunday 24th
Our first game in the Second Division is an away match against Badajoz. We have a few players out injured. Abraham is out for a month with a twisted ankle, José Masegosa is out for a week with a shoulder injury and Javier Guerra is recovering from a serious leg injury and is some months from fitness. Our starting lineup featured 4 of our loan players and looks like this.


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Diego MartÃ*n Juan Ugarte Pablo Box Carlos Rivera(capt) José Miguel ZuritaLuis Miguel Carrión Jesús Victor Javier Musa Oscar Jornet José Luis</pre>

We are continuing with the formation that worked so well for us last season and see how it works out at a higher level. The two teams are fairly evenly matched and despite losing Juan Ugarte to injury midway through the first half, a goal after 32 minutes by captain Carlos Rivera gives us a narrow 1-0 win and a very pleasing start to life in Division 2.

Wednesday 27th
We travel some 400 kilometres north to Toledo for our Spanish Cup Preliminary Round game without the influential Jesús as he has picked up a groin strain in training. PÃ*a replaces him and Orife comes in for Juan Ugarte. During the first half Diego MartÃ*n spurns half a dozen good scoring chances but finally finds the target with 30 minutes remaining. He then reaches the landmark of his 50th goal for Motril 10 minutes before the end. Another excellent performance by José Luis helps us to keep a clean sheet to give us a good 2-0 win.

Thursday 28th
Scout Gustavo Caceres has accepted an offer from Badajoz and leaves us to take a scouting post with them despite an offer of an improved contract. I start to step up my efforts to find good replacements for the backroom staff that we have lost recently.

retired_amyslack

September 2003

Sunday 7th
Before making the long journey to Gijón on the North Coast of the country we secure the services of a new Scout and Coach, both from Argentina. Pablo Alegre is 38 and joins the scouting staff and 39-year-old Horacio Estevez comes on board as a coach. A very steady performance is rewarded with another Diego MartÃ*n goal after 20 minutes. We appear to be heading to another good win when captain Carlos Rivera makes a rash 2-footed challenge in the area and is immediately dismissed. José Luis is unable to save the resulting penalty and we have to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Monday 8th
I receive news that Carlos Rivera will serve a 4-match ban for his dismissal. I have no option but to give our captain an official warning but he is mature enough to accept that it is deserved. We have also agreed a €450K fee with Portuguese club Vitoria Setabul for their Brazilian attacking midfielder Jorginho and the 26-year old will join during the December transfer window.

Sunday 14th
Our first home league match of the season is against old rivals Cartagonova who were promoted to the Second Division during my first season in charge. Rodri comes in to central midfield to replace the suspended Carlos Rivera and José Luis takes over the captaincy. Rodri has not been able to hold down a starting position since his arrival in my first season in charge and this represents an opportunity for him to make an impression. We start well and have the better of the early exchanges before José Miguel Zurita gets his first goal of the season to open the scoring. Ten minutes after the restart the notoriously strict referee, Rafael Ramirez Dominguez brandishes the red card to Oscar Jornet for an innocuous push and we are down to 10 men. Our opponents get the ball in the net almost immediately but I am relieved to see the linesman flag for offside. We tighten up at the back and manage to see out time for a 1-0 win. Rodri plays fairly well but our best performer is Javier Musa in the centre of defence.

Wednesday 17th
I get news that my appeal against Oscar Jornet’s one match ban has been dismissed. I sincerely hope that this will be the end of the matter and that the Spanish FA will not indulge in their usual habit of extending the ban.

Friday 19th
After extended negotiations we have agreed the signing of Weimar Franck Olivares on a free transfer. He has been training with us for some time and has looked quite impressive. The 27-year-old Colombian midfielder is out of contract and will join the squad permanently in the December transfer window.

Sunday 21st
For our next match at home to the powerful Cordoba, Jesús is fit to return to the lineup and PÃ*a drops into central defence to replace the suspended Oscar Jornet. Unfortunately our friend Senor Dominguez officiates once more – I hope that he will not be too upset by my criticism of his performance last week. We get off to a great start when Juan Ugarte gets his first goal for us after just 7 minutes. It was a bit of a fluke to be honest – an over hit pass that the Cordoba keeper misjudged, but I’ll take it nonetheless. After 27 minutes PÃ*a limps off injured and is replaced by Suat Usta. The visitors, two places above us in the table, are a strong team and we are under pressure for most of the game. We reach half time still ahead but continue to be pressured in the second half. With Javier Musa as solid as a rock in defence and José Luis in good form in goal, we continue to keep them at bay. Then in the 85th minute, José Miguel Zurita makes things safe with a beautifully taken goal to give us a great 2-0 win. This moves us up to second in the table and I am very encouraged with our performances. The fans seem to be too as both of our home games have been virtual sell-outs. We do have bad news concerning PÃ*a as his ankle injury will keep him out for a month.

Tuesday 23rd
Abraham is now back in full training after his ankle injury but he may struggle to regain his place as Victor has played well in his absence.

Saturday 27th
Luis Miguel Carrión missed training today, much to my disappointment. When I eventually reach him by telephone I have to inform him that he will not be in the team tomorrow and that I expect him to be more professional in the future. He acknowledges his mistake and we agree to let the matter rest.

Sunday 28th
We close the month out with a trip to Vitoria near the northern border with France to play Alavés. With Carrión not playing, I move Jesús to left wingback, keep Suat Usta in defence and play central defender Oscar Jornet, now back from suspension, in the holding midfield position. Abraham is amongst the substitutes as I don’t want to rush him back from injury but he may need to replace Jornet if the centre back is struggling in his unaccustomed position. Our opponents were relegated from Division One last season and I expect them to provide very tough competition. We have a torrid time of it in the first half and are fortunate to reach the break just one goal down, thanks mainly to José Luis. However, we put in a much-improved performance in the second half and are unfortunate not to gain the equaliser that our fine play deserved. My concerns about playing Jornet out of position were unfounded as he put in a very good performance indeed.

So we reach then end of our first month in Division Two with just a single narrow defeat and sitting in 3rd place in the table – much more than I expected a few weeks ago.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division - Sunday 28th September 2003********************************************** *********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Elche 5 2 1 0 6 1 1 1 0 3 2 11 2nd Valladolid 5 2 0 1 5 3 1 1 0 1 0 10 3rd MOTRIL 5 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 2 2 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Málaga 5 2 1 0 5 2 1 0 1 4 5 10 5th Burgos 5 2 0 0 6 3 1 0 2 2 4 9 6th Alavés 5 2 0 0 4 0 1 0 2 5 6 9 7th Novelda 6 1 2 0 8 5 1 1 1 9 10 9 8th Salamanca 5 1 1 0 3 1 1 1 1 4 3 8 9th Oviedo 5 1 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 10 8 8 10th Las Palmas 5 1 2 0 4 3 1 0 1 2 2 8 11th Córdoba 5 0 1 1 2 3 2 0 1 7 6 7 12th Extremadura 6 1 1 1 4 4 1 0 2 2 5 7 13th Xerez 5 2 0 1 5 3 0 0 2 0 4 6 14th Cartagonova 5 1 0 1 6 7 0 2 1 3 4 5 15th Albacete 5 0 1 1 3 5 1 1 1 3 5 5 16th Lleida 5 1 1 0 5 2 0 1 2 3 7 5 17th Recreativo 5 0 1 2 2 6 1 1 0 4 1 5 18th Pájara Playas 5 0 2 1 6 7 1 0 1 2 3 5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19th Murcia 5 1 0 2 7 8 0 1 1 3 4 4 20th Badajoz 5 1 0 2 2 3 0 1 1 1 2 4 21st Sporting Gijón 5 1 1 1 5 3 0 0 2 0 5 4 22nd Levante 5 0 1 1 0 3 0 2 1 3 4 3</pre>

retired_amyslack

October 2003

Wednesday 1st
We start October with a rare midweek game at home to Malaga. Our opponents are another team relegated from the First Division last year and as they are just below us in the table I expect another tough encounter. This is made more likely by the number of players that I have to rest as they have not fully recovered from our match at the weekend. The visitors have most of the first half possession although they don’t create many clear opportunities. Against the run of play Francis gives us the lead just before the break. Much to my surprise José Masegosa puts us 2-0 ahead with 30 minutes remaining. Unfortunately we lose concentration and Malaga pull a goal back straight from the restart. They complete their recovery when they get the equaliser with 6 minutes remaining and the game ends 2-2. I would have gratefully accepted a point before the kick off but it is nonetheless disappointing to lose a 2-goal lead.

Sunday 5th
For our home game against Albacete most of our first choice players are available again although Francis keeps his place in the left of midfield after a good performance in midweek. Carlos Rivera is available after suspension but sits on the bench and Pablo Box moves to the centre of midfield. The visitors catch us cold and are denied a first-minute lead by an offside decision. We gradually start to assert ourselves and in the 29th minute Zurita scores to gives us a lead that we hold till half time. The visitors equalise 10 minutes after the restart and, despite further chances for both sides, a 1-1 draw is the final score.

Wednesday 8th
A particularly enthusiastic training session has some unfortunate consequences as Oscar Jornet, Francis and Carlos Rivera all pick up injuries, none of them serious.

Sunday 12th
For our next match we travel to Salamanca, some 200 kilometres northeast of Madrid. We play well for the first 30 minutes or so and José Miguel Zurita gives us a 1-0 lead. But then Pablo Box suffers an injury and is replaced by Diego. This seems to disrupt our rhythm and the home team quickly equalise. It gets worse in the second half as José Luis has one of his rare poor games and Salamanca score a couple of soft goals to give us a 3-1 defeat, our worst of the season so far. Pablo Box is later diagnosed with strained knee ligaments and will miss three weeks of football action.

Wednesday 15th
Struggling Lleida visit the Escribano Castilla for an infrequent midweek match. Carlos Rivera is brought back in to replace the injured Pablo Box and Rodri replaces a tired Zurita who sits on the bench. The team in general, and Diego MartÃ*n in particular, do everything but score. Our striker does find the back of the net once but is denied by an offside decision and we have to settle for a scoreless draw. Such is the competitive nature of the division that we drop from 5th to 10th place in the table!

Sunday 19th
We now face an away game at last season’s Division 2B rivals Extremadura. I have decided to bring Abraham into midfield to replace Rodri and Zurita is back in the starting line up. The first period is fairly even but we are unfortunate to concede a goal in stoppage time at the end of the half. We fall further behind after 60 minutes and are really struggling to put together any attacking moves of quality. I replace a sluggish looking Diego MartÃ*n with Rodolfo Andrés Orife but we still fail to make any impression. The home side score once again before the end to condemn us to a poor 3-0 defeat.

Sunday 26th
A home game against struggling Levante gives us a good chance to regain the momentum that we have lost recently. We start positively, creating a couple of chances and having a strong penalty appeal turned down. However, we fail to capitalise and the visitors gradually start to get back into the game. The first half ends scoreless but Levante take the lead just 5 minutes after the restart. I once again replace Diego MartÃ*n with Orife but we can’t find a way back and end with a very disappointing defeat. This is a terribly disappointing end to the month and our recent poor run has now seen us drop to 18th place, just one position above the relegation places.


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division - Monday 27th October 2003********************************************** *********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Málaga 11 5 1 0 14 4 3 1 1 11 9 26 2nd Elche 11 4 1 0 10 2 2 2 2 8 11 21 3rd Alavés 11 4 2 0 12 4 2 0 3 10 9 20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Recreativo 11 3 1 2 10 8 2 2 1 7 4 18 5th Valladolid 11 3 2 1 9 4 1 3 1 6 7 17 6th Novelda 11 3 2 0 16 7 1 2 3 13 18 16 7th Albacete 11 2 2 2 9 9 2 2 1 6 7 16 8th Burgos 11 2 3 0 11 8 2 0 4 8 11 15 9th Salamanca 11 2 3 1 8 5 1 3 1 7 6 15 10th Cartagonova 11 3 1 2 15 15 1 2 2 8 7 15 11th Córdoba 11 1 3 1 8 7 2 2 2 10 11 14 12th Badajoz 11 3 0 3 5 6 1 2 2 7 10 14 13th Sporting Gijón 11 4 1 1 16 7 0 1 4 4 12 14 14th Las Palmas 11 1 3 2 7 8 2 1 2 5 5 13 15th Extremadura 11 3 1 1 10 5 1 0 5 5 12 13 16th Oviedo 11 1 1 3 4 7 2 3 1 15 12 13 17th Pájara Playas 11 1 2 2 9 10 2 2 2 7 6 13 18th MOTRIL 11 2 3 1 6 4 1 1 3 3 8 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19th Levante 11 2 1 2 5 7 1 2 3 5 10 12 20th Lleida 11 1 2 2 8 11 1 2 3 6 10 10 21st Xerez 11 2 1 2 7 8 1 0 5 3 12 10 22nd Murcia 11 2 0 3 12 13 0 3 3 5 14 9</pre>