Match Report: Real Madrid Castilla 1-0 Deportivo La Coruña B

Every game for Castilla now looks like a must win. The visit of bottom of the table Deportivo B brought along the first of five finals. Now residing outside of the play-offs in fifth place after some substandard results, the teams destiny was partly out of their hands. All they can do is win as many games as possible, and hope that their play-off rivals slip up (which is more than likely at some point). If they didn’t win today though, then none of that would matter. The boss knew this, and put out a strong squad in his favoured 4-4-2 formation. Dani Gómez and Cristo González partnered up top, with Martín Calderón entering the midfield behind them. Luca Zidane returned in goal.

Even against the group’s worst side, the overall play was no different than ever. With the obvious added exception of some slightly better quality combinations, both teams could have easily won this game. Castilla did dominate the first half, but their superiority could not count for anything. In-fact, the visitors had the best chance of the half when a simple shot was almost palmed by Luca Zidane into his own net. In the second half Deportivo came out and really tried to attack Castilla, and at times I was worried about the result. That was until a corner from Martín Calderón was whipped in and brought down in a crowded area by Dani Gómez before he smashed the ball past the keeper. This was blissful for Castilla, as they had nabbed a goal in what was a typical 0-0 game. This was Luca Zidane’s worst game of the season, but even his poor positioning and decision making could not contribute for another goal. The game ended 1-0 to Castilla, pushing them back into the play-off spaces for now.

No notes this week as it has been pretty quiet compared to usual, and all about business in results for Castilla. As previously stated, the team are now back in the play-offs, but as it is out of their hands they are going to have to hope for some luck elsewhere to remain there. Man of the match went to captain Javier Sánchez at the back, who stopped the opposition from taking the clean-sheet away, despite Luca Zidane’s best efforts. Next week is a bigger challenge. San Sebastián de los Reyes may be the worst team in the play-off race, but they are still in the race. I feel this is another must win for Castilla, who may well find themselves back outside of the play-offs by the end of the weekend. Be sure to keep an eye on the rest of the Segunda B group 1 results over the next couple of days.

Before I love you and leave you, I have two things left to say. The first regards the head photo of the report. As you all will have heard, club legend Agustín Herrerín sadly passed away this week. He worked as a stadium delegate at Real Madrid for over 50 years, spending much of that time with Castilla and the first team. A moment of silence was held before the Castilla game on Thursday. I feel the tributes conjured up by ManagingMadrid artist Sofi Serg are perfect, and I encourage you to check them out whilst sparing a moment to reminisce on the legacy he left behind. Lastly, I want to shout-out Kristofer McCormack for his first ManagingMadrid piece earlier this week, regarding Raúl which you should definitely read. Kristofer is rapidly becoming a go to Castilla correspondent, and although I don’t know the details his addition to the team would be excellent! Be sure to go and follow him on Twitter (I linked his account via the Gómez goal up above). We’ll hopefully be recording a Castilla podcast for you guys in the coming days/weeks, so stay tuned for that. Now that we’re done here, all that’s left to say is that I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Goal: Gómez.

Assist: Calderón.

MOTM: Sánchez.