Last-minute Murcia penalty sees Marbella miss opportunity to go third

Miguel Álvarez saw his team throw away two more points in the final stages of a match in a 1-1 draw at home to Murcia.

A fortnight after San Fernando's Lolo Garrido broke Marbella hearts in the dying seconds at the Estadio Iberoamericano, Sergio Guardiola delivered the same blow with a penalty which leaves Marbella fourth on goal difference, just a point above fifth-placed Merida.

The hosts relied on goalkeeper Manu Fernández to keep them in the game following Murcia's electric start to the game. Two minutes in he expertly prevented Guardiola's effort from finding the top right-hand corner of the net, before denying the same player's back-heel a few minutes later.

Having survived a few scares, a cleverly-worked corner from Marbella saw them take the lead through captain Añón's back-post header, a goal which sent the home fans into delirium.

The goal did draw a response from the visitors, but they saw their efforts to equalise before the break thwarted by the heroics of Fernández. The 30-year-old's athletic reactions saw him get to Borja Gómez's extraordinary scissor kick, before he saved Juanjo's volley from Guardiola's cross.

Both teams made changes at the break, with the visitors forced into a substitution following Víctor Curto's injury while Miguel Álvarez called on the services of Inter Milan loanee Zé Turbo to replace the industrious Pedro Mérida.

The 20-year-old striker from Guinea-Bissau nearly made an immediate impact, forcing Simón in the Murcia goal to turn his left-footed strike from Kike Márquez's cross behind for a corner.

With just under twenty minutes remaining, Zé Turbo robbed the Murcia defence of the ball before being brought down by Borja Gómez when through on goal, resulting in a straight red card for the latter.

Six minutes later however, the on-loan forward spurned a great chance to double Marbella's lead, a miss the hosts would come to regret when a clumsy challenge from Delmonte gave Guardiola the opportunity to equalise from the spot.

The on-loan Granada forward made no mistake for Murcia and struck a crushing blow to Marbella, who have now drawn three of their previous five fixtures.

Miguel Álvarez's next assignment comes away from home in the form of relegation candidates Real Jaén when the two sides meet at the Nuevo Estadio de la Victoria on Sunday.