Darwin Machís’ last-gasp equaliser against Celta Vigo brought relief to a side who haven’t won in La Liga since September
“This was a light of hope,” Mauricio Pellegrino said, a sudden flash that brought them back to life. Cádiz had tried everything. They had changed the coach, changed the players and even changed their shirt. They had tried free transfers and free tickets too. They had hosted Valencia, Athletic, Real Sociedad and Betis, been to Pamplona, Villarreal, Vitoria and Granada, and it didn’t do any good. They had been through all the centre-forwards they have, and that’s a lot, but it wasn’t happening. They hadn’t scored in five matches, soon to be six; they had got just one in eight, and that was a penalty in a pasting. They hadn’t won in 21 league games, nearly six months. They were done. And then someone had a bright idea. Have you tried just hitting it?
On Sunday afternoon in the 100th minute of the biggest game, Darwin Machís did. As hard as he could, first time, running in. From the top left corner of the area, the clock on 99.02, he smashed a shot you could actually hear, the thud echoing as the ball tore in at the near post. He had only been on the pitch a little while but with one shot, he had revived his team. It was only the equaliser; Cádiz still haven’t won since the first day of September and the 2-2 draw it secured against Celta Vigo didn’t even pull them out of the relegation zone. But in that moment of madness – the bench emptying, teammates tearing down the touchline after the goalscorer, their saviour – it felt like everything.
Continue reading…Darwin Machís’ last-gasp equaliser against Celta Vigo brought relief to a side who haven’t won in La Liga since September“This was a light of hope,” Mauricio Pellegrino said, a sudden flash that brought them back to life. Cádiz had tried everything. They had changed the coach, changed the players and even changed their shirt. They had tried free transfers and free tickets too. They had hosted Valencia, Athletic, Real Sociedad and Betis, been to Pamplona, Villarreal, Vitoria and Granada, and it didn’t do any good. They had been through all the centre-forwards they have, and that’s a lot, but it wasn’t happening. They hadn’t scored in five matches, soon to be six; they had got just one in eight, and that was a penalty in a pasting. They hadn’t won in 21 league games, nearly six months. They were done. And then someone had a bright idea. Have you tried just hitting it?On Sunday afternoon in the 100th minute of the biggest game, Darwin Machís did. As hard as he could, first time, running in. From the top left corner of the area, the clock on 99.02, he smashed a shot you could actually hear, the thud echoing as the ball tore in at the near post. He had only been on the pitch a little while but with one shot, he had revived his team. It was only the equaliser; Cádiz still haven’t won since the first day of September and the 2-2 draw it secured against Celta Vigo didn’t even pull them out of the relegation zone. But in that moment of madness – the bench emptying, teammates tearing down the touchline after the goalscorer, their saviour – it felt like everything. Continue reading…
