IT WAS only a matter of a few weeks ago that some Torrevieja supporters held out the faintest of all hopes that a play-off spot might be in sight for their side. It was the kind of hope that you have every spring that the United Kingdom might win the Eurovision Song Contest, or that Gordon Brown could produce a smile that is not of the sickly intensity last seen in Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of ‘The Joker’ in Tim Burton’s 1989 re-working of ‘Batman’.

The optimism though, saw a balloon marked ‘February’, expiring of oxygen as rapidly as David Cameron’s lead in the UK opinion polls. The month which heralds the start of Lent saw a frugal return of just one point, tin-hatted by a dismal home display against Novelda.

Soto, the manager, was starting a two match touchline ban, and so he would have been within easy earshot of some choice comments by the fans in the second half directed at him in both Spanish and English.  Director of football, Tommy Taylor, had little cheer to offer either. Asked afterwards whether there were any positives to take out of the game, the ex-West Ham man gave the succinct reply of “No” and like an old vinyl record that’s stuck in a groove, repeated his view that “the players must learn to keep the ball”. One hopes then that a superglue manufacturer will be appearing at future training sessions, as with two months to go, the season is falling apart at the seams. The only consolation appearing to be that the club will probably not be mired in a relegation battle….well not yet anyway!

Taylor also said that it would be nice for the team to finish a match with 11 players, as it was Jorge’s turn on Sunday to be shown the red card of doom after a reckless challenge over an hour into the game. The defender may not have been aware that a couple of scouts from Murcia had decided to make a Lenten pilgrimage to the Vicente Garcia stadium to check him out. In the end, they got a pre-match “hands-off” warning from Tommy Taylor doing an impression of Pontius Pilate, and a buttock-numbing performance from Jorge and the rest of his colleagues. In fact, any of the Torry fans who opted to stay at home to watch Wayne Rooney canter off the bench at Wembley to clinch the Carling Cup for Manchester United had made a wise choice.

For the first 10 minutes, Novelda were out of the blocks like a greyhound who had spotted the mechanical hare at their local racetrack in a state of disrepair. They completely dominated, as Torrevieja could not even string together two passes of any merit. 

After this poor start, the home side got into the game more, and scoring opportunities were created by Ramiro and Aitor in the first half, though nothing that was straight forward, as the visitors looked more dangerous, and controlled the midfield.

Despite all that, Novelda did not capitalise on their possession, with one of their better chances from Emilio being blocked by Aurelio shortly before half-time.

Not for the first time this season, the Torrevieja keeper kept his side in it early in the second half, with two fine saves in the 52nd minute.

At the other end, the gangly substitute Cristian Green produced a run that provided some rare excitement, and then a header a few minutes later to give the locals some fleeting optimism of getting a win.     

That hope was as misplaced as a John Terry - Wayne Bridge handshake, when Jorge clumsily clattered into a Novelda player, and referee Rico Gomis had no choice but to send him off in the 65th minute.

Just seven minutes later, Juande headed the visitors into a deserved lead, and the points appeared to be sealed. Real passion and consistent pressure from the Torrevieja players appeared though in the closing five minutes, but it was too little, too late.   

FC Torrevieja are now 15th in the table, and are away to struggling Alicante ‘B’ this Sunday.

Hands off Jorge!

FC TORREVIEJA’S centre-back, Jorge, is not going anywhere, says the club’s director of football, Tommy Taylor.

Taylor was tipped off that a couple of scouts from Murcia would be at Sunday’s home match with Novelda to check out the player. So, before the game started, they were told that the 20 year old was not for sale. “I found out who they were and where they were seated and I had a brief conversation with them to tell them my position.” said Taylor.