A little less than 12 months ago, Espanyol went to the island of La Palma to face the modest Atlético de El Paso, a team from one of the towns most affected by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano. A year later, fate brought them back to the island yesterday, this time on the other side of the mountain that became famous in 2021, to face Mensajero, which Luis García's team beat enough to reach the second round of the Copa del Rey.
Unit B of the Spanish team took the tie very seriously against an opponent from the Second Federation, equivalent to the old Third Division, and put the tie on track in the first half. Two goals from Salvi Sánchez in two minutes sealed a game in which the locals never had any options.
He needed some joy, this Espanyol, for whom the Second Division costs more than expected. Two consecutive defeats against direct rivals have generated doubts in the environment, as much as they say in the dressing room that they are keeping calm. Beyond the results, the team has shown defensive and offensive problems that seemed to be solved.
Yesterday, in La Palma and against a much inferior opponent, the team again showed commitment from the start. The coach completely changed the eleven, except for the pair of central players, and the performance was very high. In particular, Salvi shone, with two goals, and Keita Baldé, who is still recovering from his muscle injury.
The winger from Sanlúcar de Barrameda was the great offensive protagonist of the night. The best chances came from his boots. Before the half hour he tested Padilla with a cross shot that the keeper turned away. Shortly after, Ramon Ramos crossed from the left and at the penalty spot Salvi boosted the goal to open the scoring. Only two minutes later he scored after a gift from Padilla. The goalkeeper went to the front to refuse, but sent the ball towards the white-and-blue player, who scored with pleasure without opposition due to the passivity of the local defense.
During the second half, the Canaries stretched and took a step forward in search of something positive, despite the fact that Joan Garcia did not have much to do. The game lost intensity as the minutes went by and coach Perico gave prominence to Joan Puig, Aguado and Jofre, who came close to scoring the third.
The white-and-blues did their homework and came out of a very long journey strengthened in spirit, which may well take its toll for Friday's match against Eibar.
