We were unable to turn chances into goals against Real Zaragoza as our unbeaten run rolls onto nine games with a goalless draw at La Romareda.
Luis García Plaza made five changes to the side which overcame Málaga CF 3-1 at the Visit Mallorca Estadi three days prior as Franco Russo, Iddrisu Baba, Aleix Febas, Lago Junior and Marc Cardona were called up in place of Antonio Raíllo, Iñigo Ruiz De Galarreta, Salva Sevilla, Antonio Sánchez and Jordi Mboula respectively.
A familiar foe having faced no other side more times than Real Zaragoza in our 104-year history, our 72nd clash with Los Maños was a cagey affair from its inception as a half chance for Febas against his former club was the closest we would come to an early breakthrough.
The hosts would respond with a spell of possession which tested the resolve of our defence as Francho Serrano and then Pep Chavarría had back-to-back efforts on goal in the space of a minute; the latter of which requiring Manolo Reina to get down well and keep hold of the ball.
We managed to weather the brief storm and settled into our game as the return of Baba added balance to the midfield with Febas regularly getting on the ball in the final third alongside Dani Rodríguez, although the pair were unable to turn promising build-up play into goalscoring chances for much of the first half.
Marc Cardona would attempt an audacious swivel and volley on the stroke of half-time, but with the ball flying well over the bar, a frustrating opening 45 minutes ended with the scores level.
The restart read from the same script as the first, although Cardona almost capitalised on a brief lapse of concentration from Real Zaragoza minutes into the second half but was unable to get his effort on target having raced forward from midfield.
Mboula and Ruiz De Galarreta’s introduction on the hour mark changed the dynamic of the game with immediate effect, as the latter had arguably the game’s best chance when he skilfully beat his marker before curling the ball just wide of the mark from a tough angle inside the box.
As time slowly ebbed away, we thought we had found a late winner with 10 minutes to go when Mboula cut the ball back for Abdón Prats, but with the striker cleverly dummying for the on-rushing Dani Rodríguez, the ball fell at the striker’s feet once again only for his strike to rattle the post from a few yards out.
Despite a late chance for Antonio Sánchez, the killer instinct ultimately alluded us as we had to settle for a point and unfortunately missed out on ending the weekend top of the table.
With October’s hectic fixture schedule finally in the rear-view mirror, we will now have a week to prepare for our next game for the first time in a fortnight as we host SD Ponferradina at the Visit Mallorca Estadi on Matchday 11.
