Today dey mark exactly 11 months since Celta Fortuna begin dia season with first training on July 13 last year. For those 11 months, dem don play 38 matches for regular league, plus two semifinal playoff games wey dem use eliminate Europa. But di real fight for promotion to Segunda División start today for El Toralín, where di Celta B team go face Ponferradina for di first leg of di final.
After short week wey dem dey struggle with injuries from several players – di extra time against Europa on Sunday leave some problems – di team wey Fredi Álvarez dey coach go into di first leg with aim to get di best result possible. Dem know say next week dem get another 90 or 120 minutes to decide di promotion wey go be historic. Despite di injuries, di coach get all im players available and take all 28 of dem to Ponferrada, including long-term injured Vicente Nunes. So he go need to drop at least five players before match.
Fredi Álvarez talk say: ‘Di objective na to win di match. But di match go lead you one way or another, and maybe you go need to settle for small result or draw, but our objective na to win.’ Di coach from Moaña analyze di opponent, Ponferradina, wey he consider as ‘favorite,’ but he see di tie as 50-50. He say: ‘We know say we dey face di best team of di second half. Di opponent wey bin dey relegation zone at start of second part of league, and dem dey concede very few goals. For second half, dem concede 11 goals, six of dem for two matches. E hard to beat dem, but we too be team wey like to score, and we must play our own game like dem go play theirs. I expect very difficult match against very experienced, very veteran team wey almost promote to Segunda División last year.’
Di Franco-Tunisian coach Mehdi Nafti be one of di main reasons for Ponferradina comeback for second half of season. He take over team wey dey relegation zone after dem lose to Celta B for Balaídos (2-0), and he carry dem go fourth place with only five points less than Celta B, wey finish second. For semifinals, di team from León eliminate Atlético Madrileño without conceding any goal (0-0 for El Toralín and 0-1 for Alcalá). Dat na dia main strength: defensive solidity. So di match go be between youth and scoring ability of Celta B team, and defensive experience of di Bierzo team.
Di promotion start today for Ponferrada. Ponferradina sell all remaining tickets for di match against Celta Fortuna dis afternoon for El Toralín within one hour yesterday. Di club from León give total of 583 seats for Celta fans, wey go make noise for di first leg too, but di big crowd expected for di return leg next week for Balaídos. Celta don offer more than 1,000 tickets to Ponferradina, same as for Europa League rival fans. Di teams go get plenty support from stands.
Di Anti-Violence Commission declare all matches of di finals for promotion to Primera and Segunda División as high risk yesterday, so dis afternoon match between Ponferradina and Celta Fortuna go play under dat security measure. For same vein, both Vigo and Bierzo clubs publish joint statement wey say: ‘Dem dey encourage dia supporters to enjoy di playoff to di fullest, to give everything to defend dia colors, and to live di experience in sporting atmosphere wey befit two centenary clubs. Di competition go be intense on di pitch, both stands go live am with passion wey dey characterize dem, but above all, cordiality and respect go prevail.’
