Algeciras run in four to claim first win in El Clásico.

Real Balompédica Linense 0-4 Algecrias C.F.

Romerito said Algeciras’ need for victory was greater than Balona’s. His words came back to haunt him as the albirrojos tore Linense apart from first whistle to last in a very one-sided derby encounter.

This will have been a painful defeat for La Recia, Victor Mena and Nacho Miras were quick to offer apologies for the performance to the fans who were in great voice throughout the game despite watching their worst nightmare unfolding in front of their eyes.

The absence of captain Ñito González was a hammer blow for Balona with Victor Mena taking over the armband for the day. Antoñito’s leadership qualities were badly missed in this one. We will never know if having him on the pitch would have sparked a different reaction to conceding early.

The decision of Iván Ania to start Álvaro Leiva was a masterstroke and the 18-year-old Algeciras native didn’t take long to deliver for his club. It was his through ball in the third minute that split Morante and Jesús Muñoz. Roni was onto it in a flash to prod the ball past the on-rushing Nacho Miras.

Leiva’s celebration in front of his fans was more animated than the goalscorer himself and there was more to come.

Álvaro Leiva turned Loren and ran to the byline. Loren was trying to get back to him but using his stocky frame he easily held off the makeshift right back. Leiva’s pull back went to Jesús Muñoz whose feeble clearance landed flush for Romero to smash home the second goal.

Jesús Muñoz was all at sea in the second half too. A ball knocked over the top of Borja Lopez saw Roni bearing down on goal. His shot was going well wide, but Muñoz back heeled it and as it skipped up Alvaro Romero spectacularly over head kicked the ball into the gaping goal.

Two failures to clear the lines properly had led to two goals. Algeciras were firmly in control.

And the fourth was a direct result of yet another failed attempt to clear the ball. This time Fran Morante was the culprit. As he sliced his clearance straight into the path of Morilla who shot past Nacho Miras. By this stage the body language of the home side was one of complete dejection and surrender.

There were so many failings by Balona in this game. Gerard Oliva was a lonely figure up front, Alhassan Kormoa and Coulibaly who have been receiving plaudits all season failed to get on the ball.

Balona resorted to long balls that simply did not stick. Loren met his match in Leiva. Morante and Muñoz played like strangers.

For everytime Roni, Leiva or Romero wanted to run in behind it looked as though they were thoroughbred racehorses up against the Balona defenders, the beach donkeys.

Did Balona get ideas above their station after the great start to the season? Were Algeciras hungrier for success? Why did Romerito try to play down the intensity of the derby with his words in the build up?

It’s been reported that the Balona president entered the dressing room after the game and he was fuming. Hardly surprising when he saw how toothless his side had been against their fiercest rival.

To give credit to the Balona players that have spoken out since to the press and on social media. They have not hidden, they have not made excuses for the performance. They are taking their medicine like men and for that we can be hopeful that this level of performance will not be repeated.

Gerard Oliva needs a goal. We cannot rely on midfielders to get the goals it’s the job of the striker to deliver the goals.

Leiva stole Koroma’s thunder and if I was a club from La Liga Smartbank or La Liga looking for an exciting winger based on yesterday’s performance, I’d be ringing Leiva’s agent.

The great news for Koroma is it is Barca B up next. A real chance to once again be the key player in black and white in a game that will have a huge audience.

The team will be hurting, and they will learn from the experience. The happiness of the first three games cannot be forgotten either. Time to go back to 100% commitment and effort and playing to the strengths of the players that wear the Balona shirt.

La Recia look to add to Algeciras woes.

Preview Real Balompédica Linense v Algeciras C.F.

Sunday 19^th September 2021 – 17:00

Primera RFEF – Jornada 4

Author: Les McKee

When a fixture list comes out it is like opening a box of chocolates – you quickly grab the first one and scoff it down then rummage through to find your favourite.

That was exactly how it was when the Primera RFEF fixtures dropped in July – Wow! Real Madrid Castilla at home first that’s tasty – then OK! When is El Derbi with Algeciras?

Like a newly opened box we did not have far to look as on matchday 4 the treat we all wanted was awaiting us to get our teeth into it.

The reality is when the initial fixtures were released fans of both clubs would probably have expected Algeciras to have the better start. That hasn’t been the case and Balona come into this one unbeaten in their three games whereas Algeciras are yet to win and got humped 4-0 last week by Cornellà.

Both coaches, Real Balompédica Linense’s, Antonio Ruiz Romerito, and his Algeciras counterpart Iván Ania have been speaking ahead of the first Clásico del Campo de Gibraltar in the newly created Primera RFEF.

Romerito feels Algeciras’ need is the greater and he may be right. A victory for the albinegros would open an early eight-point gap between them and the near neighbours. However, he was also keen to stress that there have only been three games and it’s too early in the season to start making judgements for or against any side.

Iván Ania didn’t shy away from last week’s poor performance and result but he sees a visit to the Estadio Municipal as the perfect way to kick start their season.

It’s not that long since Algeciras last visited La Linea, on that occasion an injury time winner by Eduardo Ubis secured Algeciras promotion to Primera RFEF as well as giving them the chance to go onto the promotion play-offs to the Segunda.

The promotion bid ultimately ended at the final hurdle losing out to Xabi Alonso’s Real Sociedad B. The match winner in the last derby Ubis was moved on in the summer to Mar Menor. The manager who orchestrated that victory Salva Ballesta is also gone.

In fact, only three of the starting XI from the last derby started for Algeciras in Cornellà last week so this really is a new side just finding their feet under a new coach.

Romerito insists this game for Balona is not about revenge for that last gasp defeat. Given the changes that have taken place within Algeciras C.F. since that game and the changes at Balona I can see where he is coming from. Whilst what he is saying will ring true on the pitch and within the squad, it’s highly unlikely that sentiment will transfer to the stands.

The pain of defeat was made worse by the fact as La Recia drowned their sorrows in the club bar the songs and cheers of the Algeciras players were coming through the walls. Their songs seemed to echo off every surface creating a living hell for those in black and white. It was like listening to those early auditions for X-Factor that sound like an animal in distress. That sound will only be forgotten if the singing of the Balona himno is filling the air on Sunday evening to toast a home victory.

Of the new Algeciras C.F. squad there is high hopes for young local Álvaro Leiva. At just 18 years old the club have tied him down to a contract that runs until 2025. The boy is living his dream and is ready after playing some minutes this season to make his mark. Does Ania dare throw him in from the start on Sunday?

Captain’s of both sides Sunday could be Algeciras natives as Antoñito and Almenara are set to meet in the middle for the pre-match pleasantries.

With the handshake and the first blow of the referee’s whistle the friendship will stop. This is a great chance for Balona to stamp their authority over their campo rivals.

These games are usually tight affairs and I expect this one to be no different. One mistake, one flash of genius, one bit of good fortune can decide games of this magnitude.

You can’t fault the focus, work rate and endeavour of the Balona players to deliver Romerito’s vision to the letter so far this year.

Now he has asked for calm on the pitch. The team that plays the game not the occasion could well come out on top. Trust in what has gone well and learn from what has not. Understand that the opponent will have spells of possession but when they do, ensure everyone holds their positions and works collectively.

The brilliance of Coulibaly or Koroma can win this game but as much as those guys take a lot of the plaudits this team is a unit. Without Masllorens, Coulibaly lacks freedom. Without Loren overlapping Koroma can’t cut inside. Without Dorrio covering Mena gets pinned back. Each and every player in the side impacts the other and in Antoñito not only is he the glue that joins it all but, on this day, he is the man who knows what it is like to be on the other side.

A matchday 4 fixture cannot be pivotal in a team’s season, or can it? It certainly doesn’t decide anything permanent but what it would mean in terms of confidence for the victors is hard to measure at this stage.

There is not one player, staff member or fan who has even mentioned who Balona are playing in matchday 5 (it’s Barça B away) and that I feel shows how much the club, the town and the people are all focused on Algeciras and only Algeciras. Last time they left with everything, this time they need to leave with nothing.

If managers Romerito and Iván Ania sleep tonight they are calmer men than me. The fans of Balona will be dreaming of a win but that doesn’t mean they will be sleeping. Bragging rights that far outweigh the three points on offer are up for grabs. Who will be crowned Kings of the Campo?