A rose with thorns: Espanyol bleeds in Vallecas

BarcelonaAs is customary every April 23rd, Espanyol gave blue roses to all female members who visited their stand on Rambla Catalunya. Also in Madrid, to the 'periquito' fans who traveled to Vallecas, where the Catalan team played with the senyera and a rose on their chest.senyera and a rose on their chest. What they didn't get was a victory, essential to ward off the specter of relegation after, as of now, fifteen consecutive games without a win.

A rival full of casualties

Manolo González's lineup in Vallecas was a statement of intent. The Galician came out with a double strike formed by Kike García and Roberto Fernández and a third forward, Pere Milla, on the left wing. With Urko González suspended, and facing a Rayo side with numerous defensive absences – three of their centre-backs were out – the blue-and-white coach sought direct football to hurt the unprecedented rival defence. In midfield, Edu Expósito was present, who came very close to scoring the first with a very long-range shot that made the Egarense Dani Cárdenas, substitute under the posts for Batalla, shine. It would have been one of the goals of the season.

With a much less aesthetic finish, almost futsal-like, from a standing start, Roberto again came close to scoring. Little by little, Rayo's defensive seams began to show, relying on some brilliance from Isi Palazón between the lines to trouble Marko Dmitrovic's goal, who was practically unnoticed during the first half-hour. Espanyol's inaccuracies and the excessive long balls that Roberto and Kike couldn't win reignited the home side, who needed points even more than Espanyol. The Madrid side, who will play in the Conference League semi-finals next week, started the match with only two points separating them from the relegation zone.

Manolo didn't like the direction the match was taking at all and was grateful that his team reached half-time with the score tied, which was provisional in Vallecas yesterday due to technical problems. Alemão, with a header from a Ratiu cross, had been on the verge of opening the scoring. To try and fix it, the Galician coach brought on Charles Pickle in place of Pol Lozano, who was cautioned. The start of the second half was delayed by another setback: there was a hole in the net. Cárdenas fixed it with duct tape. Things happen in Vallecas.

Espanyol's curse

The breakdown didn't distract Isi Palazón, who right at the start of the second half connected with a header that Dmitrovic deflected with a great save. The Serbian, who once again was holding up the 'periquitos' (parakeets), also saved Alemão's goal, this time with his foot. And from one goal to another, because in the continuation of the action the referee signaled a penalty in favor of the 'blanquiazules' (white and blues) for a handball inside the area by Valentín. There was a quarter of an hour left and it was the opportunity Espanyol was looking for to break their bad streak. But Cárdenas, Tarrasa's substitute goalkeeper, turned hero, stopped Kike García's shot. The 'periquitos' aren't scoring even from a penalty or with an easy header inside the small box that Pere Milla sent wide a minute later.

They paid for it dearly because in the 87th minute Camello did score. Taking advantage of a serious defensive error by the 'blanquiazules', he beat Dmitrovic between the legs. It complicated, and a lot, the life of an Espanyol that is on a downward spiral and will play for it against Levante with relegation getting closer and closer. The disheveled faces of the footballers on the pitch and the tears of the visiting fans in the Vallecas stands confirm the extent of the tragedy. The rose they had been given had many thorns.