First victory of the season

Success always tastes even sweeter when shared with supporters, and Real Oviedo chose the Carlos Tartiere as the setting to notch their first three points of the season, beating UD Almería in the first home match of the
2016-17 season.

Fernando Hierro opted to make two changes to the starting eleven fielded last Sunday in Valladolid. Varela and Pereira replaced Peña and Linares in the starting line-up, against an Almería side who tried to challenge Real Oviedo’s control of the ball. The opening minutes of the game were even, with Real Oviedo’s players somewhat tense from the nerves of their first home game, but they still launched some attacks and controlled the ball well. Nando tried his luck, but was foiled by Casto. Next a cross from Fernández flashed across the box with both Toché and Nando unable to provide the final touch. Then Toché let fly with an angled shot, which went wide. The injury suffered by Verdés resulted in the final few minutes of the first half being Almería’s best spell in the match, culminating in Chuli striking the post. Óscar Gil replaced the injured Verdés just before the interval.

In the second half Real Oviedo shook off their earlier nerves and took charge of the encounter, providing forty five minutes of fine play, both in attack and defence. The goal did not take too long to arrive and Nando finished coolly, slotting home just inside the post following a great backheel pass from Toché. This pass left the wing open for Nando to show his pace before beating Casto to open the scoring. The dismissal of
Diamanka would then leave Almería coach Soriano and his side one man short, and increase Real Oviedo’s dominance. Real Oviedo played calmly and sought a second goal without suffering any difficulties in defence, with the exception of one good save from Juan Carlos from a wide free kick. The second goal finally arrived. A nice pass by Martín Alaniz from the right wing left Toché with three quarters of the pitch and several defenders ahead of him. The striker from Murcia slalomed forward, driving towards the goal, and finally made the score 2-0. In the final minutes Linares had the last chance to make the score a definitive 3-0, but Casto saved well.

Real Oviedo enjoyed the first afternoon of football at the Carlos Tartiere of the new season, and ensured their fans did too.