Real Oviedo needed to win and hope. They won, and they hoped. However, bad luck meant that this time they missed out by a single goal. They needed one more goal to go in at Los Pajaritos to enable the team to squeeze into sixth place. In the end, the final playoff place went to Numancia, who finished level on 65 points with Real Oviedo, but made the cut due to their superior head-to-head record.
The match began with chances for both teams. Real Oviedo had control of the ball and went close to opening the scoring when Linares headed just wide from a corner. Alfonso intervened to keep out Cucho’s header which had been creeping in at the back post, before Aarón tried his luck. Real Oviedo were threatening in attack and creating chances. Eventually, a wonderful pass from Rocha left Johannesson one-on-one with the keeper, and he side-footed a volley home to open the scoring. Shortly afterwards, a foul on Mossa saw the Asturians win a penalty, but Santamaría denied Linares. The Captain fired the rebound against the bar. The interval arrived with the score still 1-0.
Huesca pushed forward more in search of the draw in the second half, but Real Oviedo withstood the attacks of Rubí’s already-promoted side. The match became tougher in the early stages of the second half, until finally, in the 72nd minute, Miguel Linares scored the second goal of the game. Huesca cut the déficit to 2-1, but the Tartiere was aware that, unless Cultural could get a second goal, the Asturians would miss out on the playoffs due to their head-to-head record against Numancia.
After the final whistle, the Carlos Tartiere bid a proud farewell to their team, their players, and their Coach. Until next year.
