Elche Locks Down and Enters Promotion Zone

Elche is now the second team that concedes the fewest goals in the entire second division of Spanish football. These defensive stats have catapulted them into the promotion zone for the first time since Eder Sarabia took charge of the franjiverde bench.

The team from Martínez Valero made a significant statement last matchday by defeating another strong team like Eibar 0-2, officially presenting their candidacy for promotion. There is a long way to go, but Sarabia's team now gives reasons to dream, especially thanks to a recognizable style of playing the ball out and being protagonists in possession.

Elche, after their victory this matchday in Ipurúa, kept a clean sheet for the third consecutive league match, a streak not seen since March of last season, propelling them up the standings. The Ilicitano team has kept a clean sheet consecutively against Cartagena (0-0), Burgos (1-0), and against Eibar (0-2).

These three matches had different protagonists in Elche's goal, as the first match was played by Miguel San Román and the last two by Argentine Matías Dituro, who is in extraordinary form.

The last time Elche had such defensive records was in the second half of the last championship, between the end of February and the beginning of March, when with Sebastián Beccacece on the bench, the Ilicitano team managed to win in Cartagena (0-1), against Alcorcón (3-0), and Villarreal B (0-1).

The current unbeaten streak in the league is joined by another match in the Copa del Rey, played this week in Coria, where Elche also kept a clean sheet (0-3).

The franjiverde team opens the matchday this Friday (8:30 PM) at Martínez Valero in a high-stakes match against Almería, a recently relegated team that has started very irregularly but has an extraordinary squad, with players like Marc Pubill, Lucas Robertone, Gonzalo Melero, Nico Melamed, Sergio Arribas, Luis Suárez, or Leo Baptistao.