Real Madrid Castilla earned a hard-fought victory over a stubborn CF Talavera de la Reina, to earn their fifth successive win in the Primera Federación and propel themselves up to third in the table, four points behind leaders CD Tenerife.
Centre-back Joan Martínez was the home side’s saviour, expertly directing a header past opposition goalkeeper Jaime González in the 82nd minute and continuing Castilla’s excellent run of domestic form, with the team having not lost a game in the month of October.
Castilla sought to control the match from the outset, bossing possession as they probed for attacking openings. The only goalmouth action of note during the opening quarter of an hour came from a driving run from Daniel Yáñez, starting within his own half and resulting in a tame shot which produced a comfortable save from González in the Talavera goal. Castilla began to increase the pressure on the Talavera back-line, firstly with a dangerous Manu Serrano cross which Loren Zúñiga was inches away from making contact with, while a few moments later an off-balance Martínez fired over from close range after a corner delivery wreaked havoc in the Talavera box.
For all their possessional and territorial dominance, however, Castilla created few clear-cut opportunities and were offered several warnings before the interval about the threat carried by the Talavera attack. Firstly, Gonzalo Di Renzo zipped a shot narrowly wide of the far corner, before Fran González was required to be alert to get down to his right-hand side to make a fingertip save from a Marcos Moreno shot.
Castilla survived a huge scare early in the second half, as VAR reviewed a flailing Zúñiga arm which caught Pitu in the face. The forward escaped with just a warning and, arguably fortunate to still have eleven men on the pitch, Castilla pressed on. Jaime González was forced into a series of stops, first from a long-range Manuel Ángel effort and then from David Jiménez, who had been played into the Talavera penalty area down the right-hand side after neat wing play from Palacios.
The hosts remained composed and patient in possession as the second half progressed. However, the central defensive pairing of Sergi Molina and ÁlvaroLópez for Talavera stood firm and defiantly repelled any attack that Los Blancos sought to launch, consistently heading away any balls into their box which looked remotely threatening. On the rare occasion that the two centre-backs found themselves beaten, González came to their rescue as he once again saved from Ángel, showing great agility to smother the midfielder’s goal-bound effort.
The Football Video Support system, being trialled in several leagues including the Primera Federación this season, was called upon by an increasingly desperate Álvaro Arbeloa, as the Castilla manager requested referee José Pardeiro Puente to check whether a foul committed by Edu Gallardo on Álvaro Leiva had occurred inside the 18-yard box. However, video evidence supported the official’s original judgement and the original decision of a free-kick was upheld, with the resulting delivery being diverted narrowly past his own post by Di Renzo.
Just as it seemed as though it was not to be Castilla’s day, Martínez provided the attacking quality that Los Blancos craved, guiding a corner delivery into the back of the Talavera net with an impressive header and sparking scenes of jubilation among many of the fans packed inside the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano.
Both sides spurned opportunities in front of goal late on, with Fran González displaying fantastic reactions to preserve Castilla’s clean sheet and get a hand to a Di Renzo half-volley, while Bruno Lois Iglesias missed a golden chance to double the home side’s advantage, wastefully dragging his shot the wrong side of the upright.
The result affirms Castilla’s status as serious playoff challengers, and potential title candidates, while it brought to an end a run of two victories on the bounce in all competitions for Talavera, who slipped down to 11th in the league. The fixtures do not get any easier for the visitors, who travel to face 2nd place RC Celta Fortuna next Saturday, while Castilla will look to further extend their impressive run of domestic victories when they face Mérida AD away from home the following day.
Real Madrid Castilla Lineup: Fran González; Jiménez, Martínez, Valdepeñas, Serrano (subbed for Mesonero, 69’); Cestero, Ángel (subbed for Perea, 89’), Thiago (subbed for Leiva, 69’); Yáñez (subbed for Aguado, 69’), Zúñiga, Palacios (subbed for Bruno, 89’)
CF Talavera de la Reina Lineup: Jaime González; Ouacharaf (subbed for Montero, 85’), Molina, López, Roig (subbed for Navarro, 85’); Valen Gómez (subbed for Edu Gallardo, 63’), Pitu, Sanchez, Capó (subbed for Cuenca, 85’); Moreno (subbed for Fran Rodríguez, 63’) Di Renzo