A Challenging Schedule Awaits Hércules

Hércules' setback against Recreativo de Huelva, a team that secured its first away victory at Rico Pérez, comes at a particularly delicate moment for the blanquiazul team. Torrecilla's squad faces a daunting schedule that will demand the best version of a Hércules side that has been too inconsistent, with the primary goal of reaching 45 points to ensure their stay in the league. The Alicante team will visit El Collao next Sunday in a derby that is always closely contested and particularly challenging for the blanquiazules. Following this provincial classic, Torrecilla's team will test their strength against four clear promotion contenders: Castilla, Ceuta, Ibiza, and Antequera.

Hércules has already accumulated eleven defeats in the current Primera Federación championship, with twelve rounds remaining, matching their worst record for an entire season in the last five years. The Alicante team has lost four more matches than in the entire previous season, in which they achieved promotion to Primera Federación, and the same number as two seasons ago when they were prematurely out of the promotion race.

The current Hércules team also has more defeats than in the 2020-21 season, in which they failed in the promotion phase but finished the championship with eight defeats.

They also have worse records than the 2020-21 campaign, where the Alicante team only lost six matches in a competition reduced in the number of teams.

One must go back to the 2019-20 championship, suspended due to the Covid pandemic, to find a Hércules with more losses in the league. That team, seemingly doomed to relegation to Tercera, had thirteen defeats when the competition was halted in March.

Despite the high number of defeats, the Hércules team, debuting in the competition, remains in the upper mid-table, having also managed to win ten matches in the current championship.

Once again, Hércules is closely monitoring the injury list due to various ailments affecting players like Retu, Del Moral, Mangada, Samu Vázquez, or Nico Espinosa. The only player currently ruled out is forward Yanis Senhadji, who recently underwent knee surgery and may not return this season.