Sunday, November 13, 2011

Hercules 0 Real Murcia 1


Proper derby game. Tension, insults, fisticuffs. In the week leading up to the game there had been a build up of tension between the two "sporting directors" Sergio Fernandez of Hercules and Chuti Molina of Real Murcia. Now Sergio was a fiery character in his time as a player and director at Real Murcia. His departure back to his beloved Hercules this summer wasn't without acrimony - and it is said he had tried to torpedo a lot of Real Murcia's moves in the transfer market. He even had the cheek to say Real Murcia had a bigger budget for players, when in reality our squad has been put together on a shoestring. This grinded with the hardworking Chuti Molina who had a difficult time this summer and was widely criticised in the press (how wrong can you be). There was also comment that the referee was a personal friend of Fernandez (both from Castilla León). It seems things came to a head at half time.....they came to blows.....Chuti head butting Sergio who retaliated with a couple of kicks. The Real Murcia delegation were literally thrown out of the stadium.

Seeing the game - it was evident that the referee was only going one way. In 30 minutes Real Murcia had committed 3 fouls, all of which the referee penalized with yellow cards. I would say maybe one of these was deserved. In the meantime Hercules were allowed to foul and break up any counter-attacks with no punishment. Then Ruso was taken out by (I think) Peña, right in front of Iñaki Alonso....our manager picked the ball up and made a tiny gesture of anger at the tackle, as if to throw the ball back at the perpetrator. It was nothing, yet the referee showed him a red card, and off he went. Late in the second half Aguilera committed a foul to break up a Hercules move....a yellow...no problem....we had been the victims of the same tackle with no card....but the ref gave a straight red. Credit to our defenders for not making any tricky tackles in the box, as the ref was desperate to help Hercules and his buddy Sergio.

You have to say Hercules dominated, Alberto had plenty to do without ever being really stretched. He did make one good save from a brilliant overhead kick, but was otherwise relatively untroubled. This Real Murcia TEAM shows so many good things. They don't crumble under pressure. There is a spirit and an ethic. They clearly BELIEVE in Iñaki Alonso’s methods. Ten games unbeaten – is no fluke.

Hércules:
Falcón
Juanra - Samuel - Mora (Jefte 89') - Peña
Arbilla (Sergio Díaz 84') - Rivas - Sanchón (Sardinero 64') - Callejón
Tiago - Urko Vera

Real Murcia:
Alberto
Molinero - Jorge - Amaya - Óscar Sánchez
Aguilera - Richi - Pedro - Sutil (Luciano 81')
Cristian García (Isaac 60') - Chando (Mario Marín 89')

Goal:
0-1 Jorge García 89'

Referee : Mr. Valdés Aller. Casero, as the Spanish say. A homie. I would say MUY casero. Let his subconscious betray him by using different criteria for each team, thus helping his friend at Hercules. Every Real tackle was carded...Hercules could kick with impunity.

Att : Aprox. 10,500 at the Rico Perez stadium. Around 1,000 of these supported Real Murcia.

It was great day out. Beers, laughs, a win, celebratory chow-down and gin and tonics back in Murcia at the supporters club bar. Got home at 4 a.m.!

So we now sit in 5th and in the play-off zone. How far we have come in just a year. In November 2010 we had just lost our first game against Ceuta.....and faced an uncertain future, not only on field, but the very existence of the club in danger. There were months ahead before qualification for the play off, with no guarantee of success, even if you did win your group. We were about as distant of our current position as was possible. It’s a credit to everyone involved – players, coaching staff, the board, and the fans. We all pulled together, and although nothing has been achieved yet, we look in a very strong position to obtain those 52 points that guarantee safety, which, let’s not forget, should still be our target.

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