Hercules Begins Marathon on the Wrong Foot, but with Almost Empty Infirmary

In bad times, keep a good face and better news from the infirmary. Despite Hercules suffering two consecutive defeats (against Atletico B and Fuenlabrada), the medical services finally bring good news, as only Dani Romera is now sidelined. The forward was injured at the beginning of last week and is ruled out for the cup match this Thursday (18:00 hours) against Ejea, and for the league match on Sunday against Villarreal B (17:30 hours).

Romera remains the only patient in the infirmary, as Alvarito was included in the Fuenlabrada squad and even played minutes in the second half. The versatile Madrid player finished with good sensations and his return is a fact, giving coach Ruben Torrecilla a significant relief, as he can play as a right-back or winger. Central defender Alejandro Sotillos is also fully recovered and is pushing for a place in the starting eleven to once again form the central pair with Montoro that began the season.

Looking ahead to the important match on Sunday against Villarreal B, Torrecilla also recovers midfielder Mario Garcia and winger Javi Moreno, who were absent in Fuenlabrada due to suspension. Even so, the lineup that Hercules will present in Ejea this Thursday is unknown, as the coach will not take any risks on artificial turf considering the marathon of matches the blue and white team has ahead in November.

Hercules, after their defeat in their visit to Fuenlabrada (2-1), has linked two consecutive lost matches for the first time since the end of last January. The Alicante team, newly promoted to the First Federation, has suffered two consecutive defeats against Atletico Madrid B and Fuenlabrada, which has distanced them, after a good start to the competition, from the top positions.

The last time the Alicante team chained two or more consecutive matches without scoring was last January, in the Second Federation, when they lost to Espanyol B (2-1), Formentera (0-1), and Torrent (2-1).

Since then, Torrecilla's team had played 24 matches, 14 from last season and nine from the current one, without repeating such a negative sequence of results.