Rufete Helps Out Valencia Again

By: Cesar | December 14th, 2008

Nice to see old friend Rufete helping out his former club Valencia … even though he’s now an Espanyol player.

Evidently, Rufete’s heart still bleeds orange.

Espanyol took a shock lead just before the half-hour mark of yesterday’s matchup at the Mestalla, Ramon Martinez capitalizing on a sloppy pass out of defense by David Albelda. Martinez ventured forward unchallenged to unleash a long-range effort that took a wicked deflection off Albelda that left Renan motionless in our goal.

No way Renan could have stopped that one …

We looked ragged and frustrated as the first half came to a close. But then, Rufete stepped up and helped us out.

A handball six minutes before the break gave the ex-Valenianista his second yellow card and his marching orders.

To be fair, it seemed a harsh decision from referee Eduardo Gonzalez. Rufete protested furiously before reluctantly leaving the pitch to an ovation from the Mestalla crowd.

Those same fans were jeering Our Beloved off the field minutes later as the whistle went for half-time but the complexion of the game had changed and it seemed only a matter of time before we’d make the most of our numerical advantage.

The equalizer came from a corner in the 58th minute, Raul Albiol arriving unmarked at the back post to rifle home a low shot from the edge of the six-yard box as the visitors made a hash of clearing Mata’s kick.

The mood instantly lifted and Emery chose the moment to re-introduce David Silva after three months out with an ankle injury, with the Euro 2008-winning playmaker showing he has not lost his touch as he threatened to unlock the door with a killer pass on a couple of occasions.

But it was another substitute who eventually settled matters for us nine minutes from time as supersub Vicente collected a short pass from David Villa on the gallop before sliding the ball underneath Kameni at his near post, much to the disappointment of the plucky visitors.

A nice win. And after the week’s results, we sit in 2nd place in Spain, 8 points from the mercurial FC Barcelona.

Afterwards, Espanyol coach Mane was upset over the referee’s hand in our victory. He was sent off for protesting to the refs at half-time.

“The referee had a big part to play in the result. At half-time I told him his decision was too harsh, and he replied that I didn’t need to teach him the rules, and sent me off.”

Moving on to analyze the game, Mane stated, “Valencia were dominating but we were dealing with their crosses comfortably. But when Rufete was dismissed, we had a lot of problems.”

“We defended well,” continued Mane. “But we lacked possession. It was a complicated game, but we had our chances to win.”

Whatever …

Valencia coach Unai Emery was his usual bashful self.

“The red card suited us because we did what we had to do. First we adjusted our defense, and then we managed to score. We are happy, although we would like to win in easier fashion.”

“We earned the win due to constant pressure and I believe the result is fair,” continued Emery. “Espanyol deserve credit for their goal, and we deserve credit for ours.”

Finally, Emery commented on the long awaited return from injury of Silva, saying, “What is important is that he no longer has the fear of injury having not played for a long time, and he played some important minutes for the team. If we are playing two games a week, it is important to have all our players fit, adapting and improving.”

Very true.

Here are some highlights from the match:

So a nice victory against a tougher-than-expected opponent.

Next week? Real Madrid, who played better than anyone could have expected in a heart-stopping Clasico yesterday. Good display and a great game for football fans worldwide.

Somehow, that match always manages to live up to the unbelievable hype. A great advertisement for La Liga, that’s for sure.

Anyways, what do you think?

We’re in 2nd-place. We’re 8 points behind, tied with Sevilla but in the hunt for the title should Barcelona happen to slip (not that I see that happening).

If not, Champions League here we come …

I’m happy. How about you?