Cádiz ends long drought to reach a point that means everything

“It was a ray of hope,” said Mauricio Pellegrino of the sudden flash that brought them back to life. Cádiz had tried everything. They changed the coach, they changed the players, they even changed their jerseys. They also tried free transfers and free tickets. They hosted Valencia, Athletic, Real Sociedad and Betis, went to Pamplona, ​​Villarreal, Vitoria and Granada but to no avail. They had dealt with all the centre-forwards they had and it was a lot, but it wasn’t happening. They haven’t scored in five games, soon to be six; They only got one out of eight, and that was a penalty for a pass. They had not won in 21 league matches for nearly six months. It was over. And then someone had a bright idea. Have you tried just hitting it?

Darwin Machís did it in the 100th minute of the biggest match on Sunday afternoon. He came in as hard as he could the first time. From the top left corner of the field, at 99.02, he hit a shot you could actually make. to listenThe sound echoed as the ball entered the near post. Even though he was on the field for a short time, he gave life to his team with a single shot. This was merely a balancing act; Cádiz still haven’t won since the first of September, and a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo didn’t even take them out of the relegation zone. But in that moment of madness – the bench emptying, his teammates tearing down the touchline after the striker who had been their savior – it felt like it was everything.

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All in all this game was huge, the biggest of the season so far. Celta coach Rafa Benítez had studiously avoided declaring the match a final, although most managers and every newspaper would gladly call any old match these days. However, Diario de Cádiz claimed that his team’s trip to Cádiz, in 18th and 17th place, was “a matter of life and death”. Catching Celta four points clear of safety was Cádiz’s only hope of survival; They couldn’t let them get any further away. This was something they had to earn. If they lost, they would fall behind by six points and a one-to-one goal difference; Two wins from safety for a team that had won just twice all season, in weeks one and four.

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In the week before the match, Cádiz had offered tickets to members’ friends to fill the seats. They also introduced a new shirt specially for the occasion, with light blue replacing the Brazilian yellow. Inspired by the sea, a nod to the navy, a compass rose and anchor in one corner, the Juan Sebastián Elcano training ship around his neck, waves all around, it would be bad enough; It was even worse to wear against Celta, whose colors they took. But they had to try something. And the last two times they’ve worn special one-off shirts (purple in 2021-22 and something ugly carnival-inspired orange the following year) it worked, so it was worth a try. Anything was possible for a club where they no longer looked like themselves.

If there’s anywhere football is fun it’s down by the bay, bright yellow and loud everywhere. Home to Spain’s first constitution and largest carnival, life here is laughable, if difficult. As he lands, the words “Against Cádiz is against humanity” appear on the wall. This is a happy place, but also a joyful place; A club that can feel like a purpose and is truly loved by loyal fans. Or at least it was supposed to be that way. Lately, even the most optimistic people are feeling pessimistic, even if there is tension and boredom. Possibly the worst team in Spain, there is not much trust in the president and not much trust in the players.

He wasn’t there for most of Sunday, either. At 11 minutes in Cádiz there was already a goal with a beautiful strike from Iago Aspas. Williot Swedberg made it 2-0 in the 58th minute and it was hard to imagine a comeback in an era when no one in La Liga had scored fewer goals than Cádiz, only Valencia had fewer shots, no one had a lower xG . Not since Logroñés almost 30 years ago has a La Liga team conceded such a late goal.

Another move forward was made, fans whistled as Maxi Gómez left – 21 games, no goals. Top scorer Chris Ramos and Sergi Guardiola were given chances and although there were actually some chances this time, they only had five goals and none respectively and time was ticking away. Cádiz had not scored from open play for almost 800 minutes; Fans on Sunday could be forgiven for thinking they would never do it again. With 12 weeks to go, the relegation race appeared to be over: record-breaking Almería, the worst team ever; The team that managed to get past Atlético, Madrid, Barcelona and Girona but could not win a single match. They looked like they were already gone. Apparently so were Granada and Cádiz.

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Fans couldn’t believe it when Juanmi finally scored in the 66th minute. Some in the stands couldn’t help but cry. But it was one goal, one goal. Two was another matter; It had been 15 games since they last did this, and by three, forget it. There was something almost inevitable about it when, at 98.33, Guardiola was presented with the easiest opportunity imaginable to at least get an equaliser, and he all but missed the ball from five yards out. This was an amazing lady who said it all. He rolled around the corner into Darwin’s path. “I didn’t think about it,” he said. This chance was 6.985 times harder than the one Guardiola had just missed, with 99.02 on the clock, but his shot was: nonsenseHe darted towards the net, striking as smartly as he was cleanly.

This was the resurrection, the life that Darwin offered. They had fallen, they seemed almost gone. But with a ridiculous movement of his right boot, they suddenly believed, which La Voz de Cádiz described as “the last cry of hope”.

Real Madrid 1-0 Sevilla, Las Palmas 1-1 Osasuna, Real Betis 3-1 Athletic Bilbao, Cadiz 2-2 Celta Vigo, Almeria 2-2 Atlético, Alaves 1-1 Mallorca, Barcelona 4-0 Getafe, Real Sociedad 1 -3 Villareal.

Monday Girona vs Rayo Vallecano.

“We put them on the canvas,” Celta captain Aspas said afterwards. Two weeks ago, Celta defeated Getafe 3-2 with a goal in the 89th minute. Their 97th minute penalty against Barcelona last week had defeated them. And now, this cruel misfortune in the 100th minute no longer resembles pure luck: they lost against Real Madrid in the 81st minute, against Mallorca in the 85th minute, against Girona in the 91st minute and against Athletic in the 98th minute. Sevilla equalized against them in the 84th minute. Goals in the 84th and 97th turned the win against Las Palmas into a defeat. Barcelona came from 2-0 down and beat them 3-2 in the 81st, 85th and 89th places. From the 80th minute onwards, almost half of their plays slipped away; They lost points seven times in the 89th minute. He flew in 14 points in the final minutes, enough to put them on the edge of Europe, but Aspas said: “If we’re there there’s a reason.”

If Cádiz is, there’s a reason for that too. They are in the bottom three, three points from safety, and while they may be the worst team in La Liga, they are still candidates to get into the Segunda. And that was just a draw. And yet is The life proposed by Darwin is different. Celta defender Carl Starfelt said: “Before the game I said a point wasn’t bad but now it feels like we’ve lost”; For Cádiz they felt like they had won, like they had something to hold on to, it was a big break. Rubén Alcaraz burst into tears. Guardiola vowed: “We are in the fight.” The players appeared in front of the fans throughout the match; Forget fatalism, this time there was applause and singing, unity again, finally some happiness returned, some faith. “I admit the atmosphere was tense,” Pellegrino said. “Unlike other matches today, we competed until the end; The players felt they could do it. “This team is alive,” he said.