A Xerez side lacking personality brings about Molist's dismissal

Recreativo de Huelva 1 — 0 Xerez CD

Photo: Diario Xerecista

An early goal from Ale Marín seals another defeat for the blue-and-whites, the last one the board of directors would tolerate before sacking the Catalan coach just as the fourth league matchday got under way

Xerez CD has officially announced the dismissal of Xavi Molist as head coach. The decision comes after the setback suffered at Recreativo de Huelva's ground, a 1-0 defeat that exhausted the patience of the club's leadership and brings the Catalan coach's spell to an end after just four league matchdays.

Molist's departure comes amid considerable institutional unease. His arrival last summer had been presented as a firm commitment to an ambitious project, built around an attacking coach with an attractive style on the ball. However, the numbers recorded during his tenure proved too worrying for the board to keep its patience.

A bitter farewell

Patience has run out. Xavi Molist's cycle at the helm of Xerez CD is over. The Jerez side lost by the narrowest of margins on their trip to the Nuevo Colombino, in a dull game settled by Ale Marín just after kick-off, in the eighth minute. The team is still unable to find its identity, still without a win and still offering no guarantees. The decision, which had been brewing for days within the board of directors, who had already warned the coach during the previous week and put him on the spot, became final as soon as the match ended. Two points out of twelve and a place in the relegation zone sealed his fate.

The blue-and-whites put in a poor showing on the pitch, missing for much of the game despite the changes from the bench, and with very little ability to trouble the opposing goal against a Recreativo side that did not play its best football either, but for whom managing the slender lead was enough. A notable first half and an orderly defensive display in the second were more than enough for the Huelva side.

Three changes to the starting XI, with Fali as holding midfielder

With his future already in doubt, Xavi Molist made three changes from the team that drew goalless with Don Benito last matchday, both in the engine room and up front. The three players with a recent past at the Decano, Manu Galán, Zelu and Rubén Mesa, were all in the starting line-up.

Carlos Pantoja kept his place in goal and the back line was unchanged: Guille Campos and Chacartegui as full-backs, with Manu Galán and Moi in the centre. The big surprise came in midfield, with the inclusion of veteran Fali as defensive midfielder at the expense of the young Raúl López, a regular in the previous league games. Isuskiza continued in midfield, flanked by Zequi and two new faces, Julito and Zelu. Up front, as always, Rubén Mesa led the line.

A difficult start for the Jerez side

With a first-class atmosphere in the Huelva stands, the match began with intensity and mutual respect between both sides. Until the fifth minute the Decano posed no threat, with a move by Paolo that put the ball into the box without Leandro managing a clean finish, in an action that Fali dealt with comfortably.

The home side, however, did not need much more to go ahead. That first warning gave them confidence, and Ale Marín took advantage of a series of lapses in the visiting defence to win the ball and beat Pantoja. It was the eighth minute and things were getting difficult for a Xerez CD side that came into this game with the noose around its neck.

The blue-and-whites were suffering badly and Carlos Pantoja had to work hard to prevent a second in the fourteenth minute, parrying a powerful shot from Ale Marín, the most incisive player on the pitch, after good work from Pol Prats.

A Xerez reaction without reward

The pressure from the Huelva side was suffocating, with a fully committed crowd protesting every action and twice appealing for handball in the opposing box. The Jerez players lacked reaction time in every challenge, although little by little the team settled on the pitch.

Fali became the emotional reference point in midfield, urging his teammates not to lose heart. In the twenty-sixth minute, Zelu won Xerez's first corner, although set pieces would not be the decisive weapon that afternoon in Huelva. Three minutes later, the winger again forced the home defence to concede a corner.

Photo: Diario Xerecista

The Xerez side were gaining ground and, again from set pieces, created chances. A scuffle between Rubén Mesa and Bonaque ended with both being booked and another corner, which Zequi Díaz took without success, although Chacartegui latched onto the rebound with a shot that went just wide of the post.

Another decisive save from Pantoja

The script of the game was partly reversed. Recreativo stopped dominating, but Ale Marín kept appearing out of nowhere, and in the forty-first minute he unleashed a perfect strike from the edge of the area that Pantoja repelled with an outstanding save, preventing a second home goal.

After the scare, Julito tried his luck on his own, coming up against José Carlos. The next corner did sow doubts in the Huelva back line, forcing both the defence and the home goalkeeper to work hard to prevent the equaliser.

A fruitless double change at half-time

Aware that his team needed a spark, Molist left Isuskiza and Rubén Mesa in the dressing room, bringing on Isma in midfield and Chuma up front. The Deportivo gave a warning straight after the restart, with an acrobatic effort from Isma that went just wide of the post, while the visitors appealed unsuccessfully for a possible penalty (46').

Fali prevented the home side's response, clearing for a corner a backheel from Paolo intended for Leandro. In the fifty-fourth minute, Zequi tried his luck with a shot across goal. The Jerez side were gaining ground while Recreativo faded completely, showing clear signs of disconnection.

Xerez CD took control of the game against a subdued opponent, although they found it extremely hard to create clear chances. In the sixty-third minute, Pantoja rescued his side again, this time denying Vela. The home coach, Galván, took that moment to freshen up his team with a double substitution.

Changes without reward

Molist responded to his counterpart's moves with two substitutions of his own, taking off Guille Campos and Zelu to bring on a debutant, Víctor López, and Jaime Fernández. The blue-and-whites, now without Fali on the pitch and with Raúl López as holding midfielder, kept pushing without reward, while the Decano had a chance from a free kick taken by Samu Cortés that Nacho Ruiz headed wide (74').

The home side, despite holding the lead, were far from comfortable, and Galván used up his changes with attacking reinforcements. Xerez CD clung on in the game, and a foul on Jaime Fernández came close to creating danger, although Jero Lario dealt with it with a fine stretching save.

Photo: Diario Xerecista

The clock was running against Jerez's interests and nerves were surfacing on both sides. Recreativo were unable to seal the win, and Xerez CD, despite trying, proved incapable of producing the inspiration needed in the final third, at odds both with goal and with getting the key decisions right. The referee added four minutes of stoppage time, in which the blue-and-whites desperately sought an equaliser that never looked like coming.

The Huelva crowd were calling on the referee to end the match, while Bonaque needlessly complicated matters in an incident that almost sparked tension between both benches. There was no time for more, and Xerez CD did not offer, not even remotely, the reaction that was expected after the run of poor results. The turning point never came, and the consequences were not long in materialising.

Match facts

Recreativo de Huelva: Jero Lario, Néstor Senra, Bonaque, José Carlos, Nacho Ruiz, Alberto Vela (Roan Riera, 84'), Álex Bernal, Pol Prats (Samu Cortés, 64'), Ale Marín (Hugo López, 75'), Paolo (Segura, 76') and Leandro (Agus Alonso, 64').

Xerez CD: Pantoja, Guille Campos (Víctor López, 67'), Moi, Manu Galán, Chacartegui, Fali (Raúl López, 72'), Isuskiza (Isma, 46'), Zelu (Jaime Fernández, 67'), Zequi Díaz, Julito and Rubén Mesa (Chuma, 46').

Referee: Sebastián Roberto Pricopi Gogu (Castilla-La Mancha Committee). Booked Bonaque, Ale Marín, Alberto Vela, Guille Campos, Rubén Mesa and Raúl López.

Goal: 1-0 (8') Ale Marín.

Incidents: Match corresponding to the fourth matchday of Group 4 of Segunda RFEF played at the Nuevo Colombino, with around 700 Xerez supporters travelling to the Huelva stands.