Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote lose, but now face a difficult play off phase for promotion.

Ian Lane reports as Lanzarote lose, but the dream is still alive.  They face a tough challenge of play-offs for promotion.

BURGOS CF 4 LANZAROTE 0   (agg 5-2)

The Rojillos suffered a devastating defeat in front of 10,000 hostile fans with two of the goals for the hosts being hotly contested for a dubious penalty and offside respectively.

Lanzarote must stand tall after this defeat. If you were to compare the budget and fan base between the two teams Lanzarote should have been dead and buried long before the second leg. As it stands Burgos are promoted to Spain’s Bronze league and the Rojillos are still in with a shout.

Lanzarote will be in the draw Monday afternoon. They will still have a big advantage over whatever opposition they may face. Finishing as Champions of their group guarantees them a draw against a third or fourth placed finisher from another group. Also with the added benefit of the second leg being played at home it means that the light may have dimmed but is a long way off from being extinguished.

The Rojillos headed to Burgos with a bad feeling between the two sides following handbags at 10 paces in Lanzarote the week before. The Champions of Castilla Y León region of Spain did not allow their visitors use of their pitch which is the normal custom the day prior to the match and this all added to the bad feeling.

As expected Burgos bombarded their visitors in the opening stages but the Rojillos defence held firm and as the match progressed the visitors began to feel comfortable on the freshly cut grass.

In the 28th minute and after withstanding all this pressure Lanzarote found themselves with the best chance of the match to date and find that all important first goal. Ayoze robbed the ball in the centre and with the keeper off guard he tried his luck from distance only to see the ball whistle agonizingly wide of the upright.

Lanzarote were looking more and more comfortable but five minutes from half time the whole situation changed. A ball sent into the edge of the Lanzarote 12 yard box was controlled by top scorer Hugo Salamanca and tracked by Rojillos central defender Acai. As soon as Salamanca received the ball he turned and fell in dramatic fashion. The Referee was totally sold with his theatrical performance and to the disbelief of the Lanzarote players awarded a penalty kick. Hugo Salamanca dusted off his make up and converted giving his side a 1-0 lead (2-2 on aggregate).

Boosted by their good fortune the local side went in for the kill and amounted total assault in the Rojillos danger zone. A total of eleven corners Lanzarote had to endure during the first period so when the Ref blew for half time the Lanzarote players greeted the whistle with relief.

The game was far from over as away goals do not count, so if the score remained 1-0 to the locals at full time then the match would be decided with penalties.

For the opening 20 minutes of the second half the locals enjoyed the majority of possession but Lanzarote posed a serious threat on the break with Toñito threatening the Burgos back four.

If the first goal was dubious then the second goal for the mainland side can only be described as genius. In the 65th minute winger Troiteiro danced around defender Josu and weaved his way through to the byline drawing the Rojillos keeper, he then pulled the ball back for Hugo Salamanca to rifle his shot into an unguarded net sending the home side 2-0 up. (3-2 agg).

It is no wonder why Spanish football is at an all time high with players like Troiteiro applying their trade in Spain’s fourth tier. The Spanish league system is complicated to say the least but who can argue with the European and World Champions. Even their club football with Barcelona is at a ridiculously unbelievable level. Nevertheless this player Troiteiro will be playing football at a much higher level soon.

With 13 minutes remaining wonderful footwork from Troiteiro equaled with a pass that carved open the Rojillos back four let in Sub Espinosa. The linesman failed to raise his flag even though Espinosa was clearly over a yard offside. The substitute gratefully chipped the oncoming keeper making the game relatively safe with a two goal cushion.

In stoppage time Espinosa began the celebrations early with his second and his team’s fourth goal of the afternoon ending the game at 4-0 (5-2 agg).

Hundreds of fans spilled onto the pitch at the final whistle as the worthy winners celebrated promotion to Segunda B (league 1). Next season is a tougher standard but Burgos look as though they should hold their own in Spain’s third tier.

Meanwhile for Lanzarote they will be playing a minimum of four more games spread out over the next four Sundays before they can finally join Burgos in Segunda B. Lanzarote have been drawn against U.D. Almansa and will play the first leg away on the 5th June and the return match in Arrecife on the 12th June.

U.D. Almansa finished fourth in their group and are from the province Albacete in Spain.

GOALS

1-0min 40 Hugo Salamanca

2-0min 65 Hugo Salamanca (penalty)

3-0min 77 Espinosa

4-0min 90 Espinosa