A king dead, king set. No one could have suspected that the void left by Raúl de Tomás would be filled so quickly. The Espanyol fans have their new hero in Joselu, a striker who since yesterday has also scored goals that are worth victories. Thirsty for points, the blue and white team needed to start adding three by three. He did it thanks to a header from his new goal man in the final stretch of the match. It was the only goal of the afternoon in Cornellà, enough to finally bring joy at home.
A joy that was accompanied by another, since the goal did not give much to talk about. If anything positive, because this time Benjamin Lecomte showed the reliability that is required of a goalkeeper of his experience. Diego Martínez's wish, in addition to winning, was not to have to pick up any ball from inside the net for the first time this season at the RCDE Stadium. Wish fulfilled.
The parakeet team came out willing to settle the pending debt with the stands. Diego Martínez has not tired of thanking the support received despite the fact that the results had not been forthcoming until now. There were no excuses, it was the day marked on the calendar to break the curse in Cornellà, where last season the fans collected triumphs frequently. It was not an easy task. The opposite rival, trained by a blue and white legend like Pacheta – gate 94 bears his name – plays daring football and visited the stadium after reaping two good results.
The fragility of Espanyol's goal encouraged the Valladolid players to try their luck several times at the start. In the 13th minute, the fans applauded wildly when Lecomte blocked a low shot, on many occasions an action considered innocent. However, it was about giving morale to the Frenchman in the second start followed by him. The RCDE Stadium had not been put down since the end of August.
In attack, Espanyol was often seen in the Masip area, especially thanks to the internships of the wings. The diamond in the midfield already used in Cádiz left the lanes for the additions of Óscar Gil and Brian Oliván, the latter ultimately decisive. Darder, after a good play intertwined at the first touch, was about to open the scoring, but his dangerous shot ran into a defender. Puado could not find a goal either. The homegrown player, Joselu's partner at the top, came at night when he had an accurate opportunity to finish off.
The chances did not materialize in any of the two goals. It would not be until before the break when a leaked ball between the two blue and white central defenders – in pink to commemorate the world day of the fight against breast cancer next Wednesday – would allow Lecomte to grow bigger and definitively seal the peace with the Spanish side. The one-on-one deflected to Sergio León was celebrated as a goal in favor. This time, the defensive oversight did not penalize.
The second half started less lively. The Castilians defended local arrivals well. The clock was ticking and nerves began to make an appearance, on the field and in the stands. Then Joselu appeared to impose his size (1.92 meters) against the blanquivioleta defense and fly to take advantage of Oliván's good center.
It is not Van Basten –as Diego Martínez recalled in the previous one–, but it is not necessary to aim so high either. Along with Borja Iglesias, he is the top Spanish scorer with seven goals in the domestic championship. He was able to sentence Puado with a Vaseline to the stick, which made fear the worst. There was no punishment or disappointment. Espanyol breaks free and takes a deep breath.
1 - Spanish RCD: Lecomte; Óscar Gil, Calero, Cabrera, Brian Oliván; Come; Aleix Vidal (Lazo, min.71), Darder, Edu Expósito (Bare, min.71); Puado (Nico Melamed, min.88) and Joselu.
0 - Real Valladolid: Masip; Escudero, Feddal (Joaquín, min. 46), Javi Sánchez, Olaza; Kike Pérez (Sergi Guardiola, min.80), Roque Mesa (Aguado, min.80), Monchu; Óscar Plano, Iván Sánchez (Narváez, min.62) and Sergio León (Weissman, min.61).
Goals: 1-0, min.79: Joselu.
Referee: Mateu Lahoz (Valencian committee). Feddal (15 minutes), Escudero (31 minutes), Monchu (52 minutes), Roque Mesa (59 minutes) and Vini Souza (63 minutes) were warned.
Incidents: match corresponding to the ninth day of LaLiga Santander played at the RCDE Stadium before 17,770 spectators.
