0-0: Avilés found its medicine against Keon and could not advance from the draw

Aviles began the duel by intending to punch the table. As soon as it started, Claudio had the first chance of the match, meeting a fine cross from Mesereus, but Mario Ruiz easily caught the Lyonese’s header. The Cantabrians did not give up, they counter-attacked with another header from Alonso, and although at first glance it seemed that the ball had gone in, the header went into the side net.

Although that beginning promised a frantic duel, the beginning was just a mirage. Both teams moved down a few gears and the match began to be played in the center of the field, with a battle between Cayon’s captain Marcos and the blue and white double pivot, Cortina and Mesereus. Avilés was on the verge of a foul after half an hour of the match, when the Oviedo midfielder brought down the Cantabrian on the field line, with the visiting fans calling for a possible penalty, but the referee ultimately called a foul and the danger subsided.

When it looked like the match was going to end tragically at halftime, Avilés stepped up the tempo and tried to go to the locker room with the goal advantage. Claudio, with good running, was very close to opening the scoring, and Sierra took the cobwebs off the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the area. Before the referee’s whistle, the Granada native committed a foul that was close to a miss, and Mario Ruiz made a great intervention to clear the danger.

The first half started with emotions and the second was no less. The visiting goalkeeper had to make a heroic double save to save Keyon. First Rojas shot at the long post and then Nestor almost scored the first score of the match. Aviles maintained its dominance and rapidly established itself in rival territory, but the Cantabrian wall seemed impenetrable. Till minute 66.

Rain betrayed Keon in the early stages of the match. Mario Ruiz, by now the Cantabrians’ keeper, made a mistake in a clearance due to the ball being wet, causing the ball to fall to Natalio, who put the ball back into the net for Claudio, from the penalty spot, putting Aviles ahead.

But the blue and white happiness didn’t last long. El Cayon, far from being knocked out, went for the tie and, after a fleeting effort, achieved his goal. The Cantabrians combined at the front to look for a gap to hurt Aviles, until Dani Salas attacked Cortina’s back with a powerful right hand, beating Álvaro Fernández and tying the match.

And, after that attack, the meeting closed. Aviles tried to change the dynamic with changes, bringing in Davao Fernandez to try to activate his attack, but the change did not produce the expected performance. The blue and white missed a big chance to get on the play-off train because Keown gave Avelcino his medicine: defend well and the first you will get is in the casserole.