Jesús Herrero decides it as Inter beat Peñíscola

Inter JP Financial beat Servigroup Peñíscola FS 1-2 at the Pabellón Juan Vizcarro to claim their third straight win in the Torneo Apertura of the Liga Prime Futsal. It was a win worked out to the very last second, decided by captain Jesús Herrero's huge performance: he first set up the opening goal indirectly, then held on to the result with a series of decisive saves.

First half

Alberto Riquer's side had the first chance straight from the restart, with Raúl Gómez clean through against Acosta, and dominated the early minutes. Javi Mínguez came close to the opener by winning a loose ball in the area, but his shot hit the post, and the same player saw Acosta stop a strong left-foot effort. The Peñíscola keeper kept his side in the game and also denied Toni Escribano and Pirata.

On the other side, the visitors tried to catch Inter on the counter and tested Jesús Herrero with long-range shots from Pablo Muñoz, Elías Beltrán and Yunii, all dealt with confidently by the Inter captain. The goal came in the 17th minute from a move of real quality: Jesús Herrero left his goal with the ball in hand, advanced a few metres, passed to Chaguinha, who set up Cecilio for 0-1, the score at half-time.

Second half

In the second half, Sanz forced Herrero into another big save, but the moment that changed the game came in the 24th minute: Lukas Acosta was sent off for bringing down Toni Escribano when the Inter player was through on goal. The Torrejón de Ardoz side took advantage of the two minutes of numerical superiority and, in the 25th minute, Javi Mínguez made it 0-2 after a fine team move.

Peñíscola did not give up. In the 30th minute, Jesús Herrero saved a point-blank shot from Pablo Muñoz, but Muñoz himself reduced the deficit shortly after, on the counter, to make it 1-2. The visitors then threw everything at the Inter goal and had every chance to equalise: Gio still blocked Raya in one of the visitors' best chances, in the 35th minute, and in the 36th minute Herrero said no to Yunii again. In the final stretch, Servigroup Peñíscola played with five outfield players, but Inter held firm in good order until the final whistle.

Analysis

“We were very good defensively and competed for the full 40 minutes,” summed up Jesús Herrero. On the importance of the three points, Alberto Riquer was clear: “These are three very important points to keep climbing the table and to go into the break with positive feelings.”

It was a high-intensity game from both sides, decided by the details. Inter JP Financial were more efficient, made the most of the opponent's numerical disadvantage, and had in their goalkeeper the edge Peñíscola lacked, despite a first half of great commitment from Acosta. For the Castellón side, the feeling is of a competitive game thrown away because of the red card and their poor finishing from the many shots from outside the area.

Player of the Match: Jesús Herrero (Inter JP Financial). There was no doubt. He began by stopping the long-range efforts from Pablo Muñoz, Elías Beltrán and Yunii, played a decisive part in the build-up to the first goal by coming out of his goal and releasing Chaguinha, and in the second half it was he who held on to the win with point-blank saves against Pablo Muñoz and Yunii. The captain was the man of the match at the Juan Vizcarro.