Real Betis-Recreativo Huelva

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

You won't get long odds about this evening's game - v. Recreativo de Huelva, kick-off 6.15pm - being Julio Velázquez's last game in charge. Anything less than victory is almost certain to cost him his job, and even a 1-0 win playing the sort of scrappy nonsense that has characterised his Betis team so far this season might not be enough to save him.
There is always the chance, of course, that this will be the day that everything clicks, but when a team hasn't even scored a goal in a month - that's four long games and counting - it's hard to be confident. Pepe Mel is apparently keen to return (less than a year after he was sacked), but whether the board have the gumption to admit their past mistakes remains to be seen.
For today's game, Velázquez has dropped Damien Perquis, but lately it hasn't been in defence where the main Betis problems lie and it's quite revealing that 18-year-old Dani Ceballos is slated to start in midfield. 500 Recre fans will be making the 60-minute trip up the motorway from Huelva to support their team, who are just ahead of Betis in the table.

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

Re: Real Betis-Recreativo Huelva

The squad:

Adán, Dani Giménez, Molinero, Bruno, Caro, Jordi Figueras, Álex Martínez, Cejudo, Kadir, Lolo Reyes, Nono, Matilla, Dani Ceballos, N'Diaye, Rubén Castro, Rennella, Jorge Molina y Chuli.

[Real Balompié]

Real Betis Balompie 3 - Recreativo Huelva 2

Julio Velazquez saved his first Match Ball. Angry Betis fans come back to yell: "DIRECTIVA DIMISION" and Velazquez "VETE YA"

Real Betis Balompié 3 - Recreativo de Huelva 2

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

Re: Real Betis Balompie 3 - Recreativo Huelva 2

Betis 3-2 Recre.

To give you an idea of just how boring this game was - yes, despite five goals, two penalties and two red cards - here's some of the things people round me were doing during the second half instead of watching the football: playing Candy Crush, taking selfies, photographing the kids' impromptu fashion show, reading the programme, following the Madrid-Barça game via the radio and, of course, looking at what all the people round them were doing instead of the football.
In short, the three points will be accepted gratefully, but there really wasn't all that much improvement in the overall quality of play, and Béticos were still singing for Julio Velázquez to go both during and after the match. The home side needed to rely on two far-from-clearcut penalties for the win, and were hanging on a bit at the end, even though Recre had been reduced to nine men at that stage. The goal drought is over, but the worrying certainly isn't.

Betis: Adán; Molinero, Bruno, Jordi, Álex Martínez; Lolo Reyes, Matilla, Kadir (Cejudo, m. 91), Dani Ceballos (Nono, m. 90); Rubén Castro, Rennella (Chuli, m. 70).

Goals: 1-0, m. 9: Rennella. 1-1, m. 11: Montoro. 2-1, m. 42: Rubén Castro (pen). 3-1, m. 64: Kadir (pen). 3-2, m. 67: Nuñez.

Attendance: 26,087

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

Re: Real Betis Balompie 3 - Recreativo Huelva 2

Thanks for the resumen