Elche Encounters Fidel in Albacete and Suffers Second Consecutive Defeat

Elche confirmed their poor start to the league this Sunday with a second consecutive defeat. First at home against Huesca and today in Albacete. Fate decreed that a legend of the Elche team, Fidel Chaves, would be the executioner of Eder Sarabia's side at Carlos Belmonte Stadium.

After a first half in which Elche was superior and deserved to take the lead, a mistake in ball distribution by goalkeeper Dituro was capitalized on by Fidel to score the winning goal for the Albacete team. Eder Sarabia's style continues to raise doubts. Too many risks in ball distribution for minimal returns. It seems that, for now, the equation does not add up. Today, this premise from the former Andorra coach cost Elche their second defeat.

Argentinian Dituro played a suicidal pass to Óscar Plano while under pressure from an opponent, the rebound fell to Fidel, who with skill and great composure established the 1-0 scoreline that ultimately proved decisive. Earlier, in the first half, Elche had chances to take the lead. Especially one from Óscar Plano that narrowly missed the post and another from Yago Santiago that struck Albacete's post.

With Albacete's 1-0 lead at the start of the second half, Elche had some opportunities in the final stretch of the match, but at no point did Albacete feel that they might lose all three points. The clearest chance for Elche came in stoppage time. Nico Castro tried his luck with his right foot from outside the box but was denied by a solid Raúl Lizoain, who deflected the shot.

With this defeat, Elche starts with 0 points out of a possible 6 in the league and finds itself in the relegation zone early on—a scenario well known to Eder Sarabia after experiencing it with Andorra. Now, Elche has a long week ahead to work on and correct mistakes before facing Córdoba at Martínez Valero next Monday, September 2nd.

By then, the transfer market will be closed. We will see if owner Bragarnik makes a commitment to Elche and secures the necessary signings to escape from the lower part of the table.