Skip to main content

Rayo B, Sandoval and a historic promotion (17th March, 2017)

In light of the fact that Rayo B might return to the regional leagues, where Rayo B haven't played since 1988...

They had topped their group - by 11 points, no less - but that was not enough. They had to play L'Hospitalet over two legs, they were at the Municipal Feixa Llarga and 1-0 down, with only seconds to go.

A free kick from the halfway line results in a corner on the left hand side. Confusion in the box. Calls for a penalty while the Rayo player run to take another corner from the other side of the pitch.

Step forward, Borja García.

The goalkeeper misses the cross, and it's an easy tap in - Sandoval's team are up into the Segunda B. In the 97th minute, Rayo B had made it.



In other news, Javier Tebas confirmed that Rayo has an agreement with the NASL that a new franchise will be created within two years - reportedly in Omaha or Las Vegas, Betis' Rafael Salas apologized for his previous comments about Zozulya (which I talked about here), and Saúl Níguez, Joaquín Larrivey, Alejandro Gálvez, Alberto Perea and Ismael Gil have all expressed public support for Rayo in these troubling times.

Speaking of troubling - what's troubling is that Rayo has the second highest budget in the Segunda. What's troubling is that La Liga caliber players rejected better offers to stay at Rayo* but a lack of concentration has seen a competitive La Liga side not even being able to compete in the Segunda.

What's troubling is that Rayo may go from playing Real Madrid to Real Madrid Castilla in two years.

*Javi Guerra had offers from Málaga and Granada. Trashorras had offers from Depor and other countries. Depor even offered 600,000 euros for Miku. Leganés offered 2 million euros for Embarba and Alavés offered the same for Álex Moreno. In the winter, Lass had an offer for 3 million euros from China and Manucho was courted by Córdoba. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ismael Urzaiz and Salamanca. A 22 team La Liga. Trust and Víctor Casadesús (9th June, 2017)

Salamanca traveled to Albacete to compete for promotion to La Liga with an impossible task on their hands. They had to overturn a 2-0 deficit away from home, against a side that entered La Liga's relegation playoff spots on the final day, and who had scored 44 goals in the league - just four less than Salamanca themselves. As the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, Salamanca were winning 1-0 yet in danger of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup). Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo...

Non-league Incider: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Last game: 8th August: Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 East Thurrock United The previous day, I was blown away by my first ever football match experience. Dulwich Hamlet impressed me, but what impressed me more was the journey. The travel to the stadium was just as enjoyable as the football itself. I had caught the groundhopping bug. There were no games scheduled for the 9th of August. There was one, near Wigan, and all I had booked earlier was a refundable bus ticket from Manchester Airport leaving at quarter past midnight. I should have refunded it. This was a mistake. This whole day was a mistake. I was only slightly hungover from the previous night, but that was nothing compared to this feeling of loss - I couldn't handle the fact that there was a game happening. And I wasn't too far away. Just three hours and a bit. They'll fly by , I thought. I was in autopilot. Something within me made me get up, grab a bag, and get out the door. This wasn't me. I wasn't trave...

Non-league Incider: Cray Valley Paper Mills 4-4 Punjab United Gravesend

Last game: 9th August: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers After ripping up my groundhopping calendar, mostly because I was determined to avoid overnight travel, and partly due to other commitments, there was a period of time where non-league football took a backseat. But that period did not last long. Because of course it didn't. Secretly, I'd loved travelling over ten hours back-and-forth to watch some 10th division football. And this was 9th division football in London. When I had gone to East Dulwich exactly a week back , I had commented on how the amount of graffiti struck me as I watched from on board a southeastern train. I was going the exact same way, but much further this time - then I had stopped at Denmark Hill, now I would have to go six stations further. The graffiti I had thought was so emblematic of south London quickly disappeared, as did the tall buildings desperately cluttered together. We, and by we I mean me, were going to the suburb...