Girona went to the hell of the Second Division. They were unable once again to win, the only thing they could do to ensure survival, and Elche, with the draw, will remain in the top flight for another season. The dreams of grandeur at Montilivi ended, which in three seasons went from amazing as the third team in the League, playing the Champions League, to ending up relegated.
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Girona fell victim to their own anxiety, their desperation to win, their difficulty in scoring. But not only in the final matchday final where they arrived on the edge of the abyss, but throughout the season, especially in the final stretch where they went eight matches without winning, since Vanat got injured against Villarreal on April 6, the day of their last victory. Since then, 3 points out of 24 possible, with four losses and four draws, including this black Saturday against an Elche that was the worst visitor in the League. A poor record to deserve being among the greats.
The fans did not fail
Montilivi gave their all cheering their team hours before the match
Montilivi welcomed their heroes two hours before the match in a spectacular, crazy, brutal welcome, with a human corridor of supporters cheering the players with applause, red flares, and a sea of red and white flags and scarves to boost the morale of Míchel’s players.
The stadium was boiling, overexcited, dyed red and white, roaring chants, to the rhythm of loud disco music. “Today is a final and it must be won!”, gave his last orders the speaker Albert Bassas. All or nothing, a “now or never”, like the lyrics of It’s my life by Bon Jovi playing over the loudspeakers. Or like ACDC’s Highway to hell. Ominous omen.
Elche, who were fighting for their lives like Girona (a draw was enough for them to survive), was theoretically a favorable opponent for a happy ending. The numbers showed they were the worst visitor in the League (only 7 points in 18 matches, with one win, three draws, and 14 losses). But paradoxically, the Alicante team had won five of their last eight visits to Montilivi and scored in one of the other three. Yikes. What would weigh more, recent statistics or history?
As eager to clear doubts, Girona started with a burst of acceleration, looking for the wings with Bryan Gil and Joel Roca to get behind a well-prepared Elche defense. But the attempts by the red-and-whites, with more heart than accuracy, were fruitless. Not a clear chance in the first 20 minutes. However, recovery, containment, and coverage worked well, with the novelty of David López in the center of defense alongside Vítor Reis, and Elche did not seem a threat.
Minutes passed without opportunities and without ideas to create them, the noise from the stands cooled down until the hydration break at the half-hour mark, while the youth section shouted “Girona is First Division” and “Girona, give it your all,” which the whole stadium echoed, to remind what was at stake. And that they still hadn’t shot on goal. This began to make some sectors of Montilivi impatient, who didn’t see it clearly.
And even less so would they see it.
The 0-1
Álvaro Rodríguez put Elche ahead with a great goal in the 39th minute and the pressure fell like a slab on Girona
The 0-1 by Toro Álvaro Rodríguez took Girona down. From a free kick floated into the box, the forward received it inside the small area, controlled it with his back to goal, prepared himself, turned, and smashed it with a half-turn. A great goal on Elche’s first shot on target, at 39 minutes. A blow at Montilivi. The pressure fell like a slab on Míchel’s team, who saw the second goal coming at 43 minutes, another shot by Álvaro Rodríguez, deflected, after a mistake by David López on a bad control.
Montilivi went into panic. They needed an urgent reaction. They could have had it with a good action by Bryan Gil from the edge of the box, but his shot was saved by Dituro.
Quick reaction
Arnau Martínez equalized at 2 minutes into the second half, giving hope to the Girona fans
Girona was playing for survival, the work of an entire season, in just 45 minutes. They needed two goals. And fast. The first came just two minutes in, the 1-1, by Arnau Martínez, the captain. A free kick from the edge of the box taken by Ounahi, cleared by Dituro, who left it loose, and Arnau finished the rebound with all his heart into the net. The miracle of salvation was possible. And Montilivi regained all its momentum with the most suffocating pressure.
Míchel’s team got encouraged, trying to take advantage of the boost with the second goal. Joel Roca connected a good header from a Bryan Gil cross, but Dituro was well positioned to stop it (51st minute).
Tactical move
Míchel gambled by bringing on Stuani for Bryan Gil, as well as Hugo Rincón and Fran Beltrán, with 32 minutes left, and Lemar in the last 12
It was time to catch a breath and move pieces. Míchel shook the bench. He turned to his favorite lifesaver, the Montilivi idol, Stuani, who came on in a triple substitution with defender Hugo Rincón and midfielder Fran Beltrán, replacing Bryan Gil, Witsel, and Arnau (58th minute). And 10 minutes later he also brought on Echeverri for a spent Joel Roca.
But it was Elche who almost changed the score with a quick counterattack down the left wing where Germán Valera, after a gallop, shot too close to Gazzaniga (62nd minute). Montilivi narrowly escaped the final sentence of going down to the Second Division.
Girona burned their last ships looking for Stuani, who claimed a penalty with little conviction. After the hydration break, Míchel tried his last move, Lemar for central defender David López (78th minute), switching to three defenders.
A missile from the Frenchman almost meant 2-1, but his shot from the edge of the box hit the crossbar (80th minute), to the despair of the red-and-white fans and an increasingly anguished Montilivi, seeing the minutes slip away. That they were going to the hell of the Second Division.
Seven minutes of added time were decreed by the Canarian Hernández Hernández. Seven more minutes of agony, of drama, to find a goal, just one goal to anchor Girona in the First Division. In that added time, a cross from Beltrán found no header, a header from Stuani did not trouble Elche, and a weak shot from Echeverri died in Dituro’s hands.
There was still one last play for Girona. Minute 97. A foul on Stuani at the edge of the box. Gazzaniga went up to head. Ounahi crossed it and the ball was lost in a series of clearances. Elche was saved. Girona was going down to the Second Division. There will be no fifth consecutive season in the top flight.
At the end of the match, after the initial funeral atmosphere in the Montilivi stands, several sectors shouted “Board, resign.”
