Espanyol was debating whether or not the Copa del Rey should be their concern while they were in the Second Division when an outstanding youth player, Jofre Carreras, woke everyone up from their reverie with two magnificent goals that gave the blue and white team the qualification for the round of 32 and, Incidentally, they breathed new life into the Luis Miguel Ramis project, struggling after the defeat in Oviedo.
Jofre Carreras' big night was a real joy for the staff, who came en masse - more than 15,000 fans gathered on a freezing night in Cornellà. The Perica parish believed in the Copa del Rey despite everything, as did the winger from Girona, trained in the club's academy since he was 13 years old, and who has been one of the big bets this season on the part of the management. sporty.
In addition to the scoring emergence of Jofre, favored by playing on the left profile of the attack - he usually does so on the right - the other good news was the notable improvement that Keita Baldé showed. The 28-year-old Catalan forward arrived at Espanyol this summer to be important, but until now his contribution had been very little. Yesterday he was one of the outstanding players receiving from his back and improving every ball he touched. In one of his drives, before the 25th minute, he assisted Jofre in the front, who with a changed leg cut inward and defined the near post with great precision.
Until that moment Valladolid had been superior, but this is Espanyol, more intense than brilliant and capable of anything in both areas. After the goal the parakeet team grew in the match, and just before half-time they dealt a new blow to their rival. Salvi Sánchez, another of the many substitutes who had an opportunity yesterday, took advantage of a mistake by his side to center at the far post, where Jofre appeared to forcefully define the penalty spot and decide the tie. Isra Sala provided some excitement in the final minutes until Puado scored the third with Valladolid overturned.
In the 65th minute, the coach retired Jofre Carreras, to whom the public gave the ovation of the night. The winger took a step forward yesterday to be important, as he already was in the lower categories. In fact, already in his debut in the First Division, two years ago in Valencia, he attracted a lot of attention by causing a penalty and giving an assist that helped the team achieve the last victory away from home until September of the following year. After a very hard year in Miranda, Jofre has returned to continue growing in his house. Yesterday he broke down another door to be a fixture in Ramis' schemes, and not only in the Copa del Rey.
