Almería and Real Oviedo went head-to-head this evening at the Juegos Mediterráneos in a hard-fought encounter. Los Azules improved as the match progressed, and ended up securing a point.
The Asturians went into today's match with a starting eleven made up of Femenías; Johannesson, Carlos Hernández, Grippo, Bolaño; Nahuel, Edgar, Tejera, Mossa; Obeng and Borja Valle. Today's fixture formed part of Matchday 37 in LaLiga SmartBank.
Real Oviedo started today's match well, taking control of the play and threatening the home side's goal, but Almería struck first. The hosts were awarded two early spot kicks. Femenías denied the first, but Sadiq successfully converted the second penalty. The Andalusians gained control of the encounter and their attack proved difficult for the team from the capital of Asturias to handle, with Sadiq soon doubling the home side's lead. Los Azules looked to long balls to the front men to threaten in attack, but the two teams went in for halftime with Almería in a 2-0 lead.
The second half began with Jimmy coming on as a substitute, and the match changed dramatically. Real Oviedo took control of the ball and began to feel comfortable and move the lines up the field, as they went in search of goals. Obeng was the first to benefit from the visitors' persistence, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Ziganda's team continued to push forward, laying siege to the Andalusians' net. Grippo would eventually convert an overhead kick from a free kick to level the scoring. After pulling level, the Asturians continued to create chances to pinch the victory, but they were unable to convert them. Almería brought on forwards to search for a winner, while Real Oviedo introduced Borja Sánchez, Rodri Ríos, Blanco Leschuk and Alejandro Arribas.
Los Azules will face Sabadell at the NMR Carlos Tartiere next time out, as they look to add three points to the tally and move closer to the objective.
