Malaga frustrated by goalless draw at La Rosaleda

The Blue and Whites, despite a rocky start, put on a very good display and will be disappointed to not receive more for their efforts

SHAY CONAGHAN

Saturday, 12 March 2022, 23:06

Opciones para compartir

Malaga CF and Ponferradina shared a point on Saturday night, as the two teams were unable to break the deadlock in what was a goalless draw. The Andalusians showed a much better version of themselves than in previous weeks and will feel like they deserved more.

The hosts came into this game against promotion candidates Ponferradina with the clear objective of building on their first victory under Natxo González and putting more distance between themselves and the drop zone.

Malaga switched back to their usual 4-4-2, with González placing Escassi in midfield as he returned from suspension, dropping Chavarría to the bench and bringing in Jairo on the wing.

Ponferradina had the upper hand and they looked dangerous from the start. They had a shot on target within the first minute and Dani Barrio pulled off an impressive save from a close-range shot following some brilliant link-up play only five minutes later.

The Galicians found it too easy to find the space between Malaga’s lines, and they often played through them with perfectly threaded passes and doing so in a calm manner.

The La Rosaleda crowd got onto Malaga’s back very quickly. The Blue and Whites’ chances often ended with final passes into the box that were hit too long for the attackers to reach, who in turn were too slow to engage their runs into the visitors’ area.

Towards the end of the first half, Ponferradina’s dominance slowly waned and it remained goalless going into the break. But the balance of the game had clearly shifted in Malaga’s favour, with the hosts ramping up their efforts but still not finding the back of the net.

Unable to break the deadlock

Ponferradina came out fighting in the second half, but Malaga remained dominant. The hosts came very close to scoring within the first ten minutes through Brandon, with an ineffective close-range effort, and a Vadillo shot from the edge of the box that didn’t have enough power behind it.

The rest of the second half would go by without any notable incidents. Malaga kept the pressure on and both teams had their fair share of chances, but once again the lack of accuracy saw no reward for their efforts.

The Blue and Whites did run out of steam towards the end, which only angered La Rosaleda, but in the end the game finished goalless, and Malaga will be disappointed not to have got the win.

Malaga will next face Fuenlabrada away from home on Saturday at 4pm, as they search for yet another win that would put more distance between them and the drop zone.

Top 50

Reporta un error en esta noticia