The Return
So, unless you’re undeniably stupid, you should be able to tell that this story has returned. I was devastated after the crash so took a little break before I decided it was time to return to the depths of the Segunda Division B, with my somewhat beloved Real Oviedo.
I knew I was not going to replay a whole 3 months worth of action, so I took the liberty of
holidaying over the aforementioned months, and these were the results:
Well...
job done. It may have been a little bit sloppy at times and a mere shadow of our incredible form before the crash, but it was enough.
Just enough, mind, but enough nonetheless. Some massive
one goal wins throughout the months saw us through.
The penultimate-weekend loss to
Zamora could well have been crucial, but thankfully they were already too far behind. At that point, fate was in our own hands, all we needed was to win at home against Marino and we were home and dry....
easy, right?
Unfortunately not, as we fell behind very early on to a
Chus Hevia strike. Thankfully, though, we were rescued by two
Diego Cervero penalties. And that was it, we came a distant 4th behind
Atletico B this time, while Salamanca beat Murcia to the league title. So, this leaves me less confident of play-off success this time around, but still hopeful nonetheless.
The Final Standings
A tight affair, with just the one point separating us and
Zamora. Nowhere near as promising as before, but it
could’ve been a lot worse.
And to my delight, we again won the Federation Cup. After breezing past
Orihuela in the semis, we this time faced off against different opponents in
Castellon. Despite falling 2 goals behind in the first leg of the final, courtesy of the aptly named
Lolo and
Jordi Marena, we recovered and went on to score
seven goals without reply.
Sene scoring twice in the first leg and once in the second, and
Pepe Diaz bagging a whopping
four goals in the second leg to clinch the tie and return the trophy to its rightful owners; Oviedo.
Play-Off Draw
First Phase Play-Off Semi-Final
Xerez vs Salamanca
Racing vs Huesca
Second Phase Play-Off First Round
Atletico B vs Sevilla Atletico
Barakaldo vs Atletico Baleares
San Fernando C.D. vs Gimnastic
Villarreal B vs Murcia
Sestao vs Osasuna B
Oviedo vs Albacete
A tough ask.
Albacete narrowly missed out the
Segunda Division B4 by just three points, so we were not to take them lightly. In the
league winners play-off, only one team with a predicted finish of 1st had qualified;
Racing. However, with the rest all predicted 2nd, this would be a tight affair.
In our play-off,
Murcia had to be considered the favourites, although with the B team of
Villarreal standing in their way, they may find it a tough ask and buckle under the pressure.
San Fernando were definitely the
dark horses of the tournament, having been predicted to finish a lowly 15th but instead securing a 4th place Segunda Division B4 finish and a play-off spot.
Their opponents
Gimnastic definitely stood a chance though, having barely missed out on the
Segunda Division B3 title. Elsewhere,
Atletico B would face off against Sevilla Atletico in a
Battle of the B teams clash.
Barakaldo and
Atletico Baleares were unlikely to cause much trouble, as they were drawn against each other. Finally, surprise qualifiers
Sestao and
Osasuna would go head to head.
So, to conclude, we had been given a
very tough draw, but if we could someone squeeze through, we may just stand a chance. Having not played with this side in what feels like a
very, very long time, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.
I could only hope that we had a little bit of luck on our side.