Osasuna 2 Real Betis 1

How cruel a mistress football can be sometimes. Real Betis, the self proclaimed unluckiest club in Spain, fell victim yet again to this most stony-hearted of sports, where hard work and performing better than your opponents count for nothing if they score more goals than you. This time the merciless culprits of the los beticos defeat were Osasuna, who had their goal keeper, Andrés Fernández to thank for staying in the game long enough to grab the winner with the last kick of the game that finished 2-1.

The Reyno de Navarra was probably the last place Pepe Mel wanted to visit today given Osasuna’s excellent record at home this season and the precarious nature of his position as the Betis coach. On the back of a nine match run which had only produced a solitary point, this was make or break for the Madrileño. The hostile atmosphere in the Navarra stadium has subdued most opposition attacking line ups, with José Mendilibar’s side having only conceded three goals there before tonight’s encounter in the league.

With this in mind, Mel went for a more pragmatic approach than usual. Out with the “easy on the eye” passing nonsense and in with a more resilient and solid mentality. Beñat made way in order to implement this change and Mario was pushed up into midfield to tighten things up.

Despite Andrés being forced into a save, in which he tipped the ball onto the woodwork in the 6^th minute from a Salva Sevilla free kick, this retinkering didn’t have much of an impact and the home side, while not creating much in the way of chances, controlled possession for the entire first half.

Los Rojillos capitalised on this just before the break with, you guessed it, a set piece. A corner taken by club veteran Francisco Puñal, who tonight became the club’s most featured player ever in La Primera División with 451 appearances, found Miguel Flaño completely unmarked on the back post to head it in.

Whatever Mel said during his (can’t resist the pun) “pep” talk at half time clearly pumped his players up as evidenced by their hell for leather approach in the second 45 showed. Bravely Mel also decided to bring on another forward to get the creative juices flowing, as it were, with Ustaritz making way for Ruben Castro.

The away team hassled the apparently impenetrable Osasuna defence relentlessly from the off, starting with a José Cañas’ shot in the 53^rd minute which took a wicked deflection causing the ball to loop tantalisingly towards the goal, however, a back-tracking and outstretched Andrés, who was to have a very busy Sunday night, got a hand to it to put it over the bar. The 24 year old was on hand again just minutes later when Roque Santa Cruz found space in the area but his strike was slapped away by the keeper and eventually cleared away from danger.

The Manchester City loanee had another chance soon after when he shuffled inside and out to get away from his man only to see his left footed effort whizz wide of the right post and out for a goal kick.

Minutes later Andrés frustrated the visitors again when a tussle in the Osasuna box ended with Ruben Castro shooting from close range on the right but the acute angle and keeper’s face denied the Gran Canarian striker.

However, Mel’s men finally got their goal in the 79^th minute, when a nice passing move culminated with Jonathan Pereira finding Ruben Castro alone on the back stick to side foot it home. One all, and Betis showed no signs of being content with just a draw. Pereira had a go at taking the lead himself with a rasping shot towards Andrés’ near post, but the the keeper was quick to get down low and put it out for another Betis corner.

With normal time almost up Ruben Castro struck the bar with a header and los verdiblancos must have thought that was to be their bad luck for the day. How horribly wrong they were. In the third minute of injury time a clinical direct free kick on the edge of their box was converted by Javad Nekounam to settle the game and ensure the Basque team took all three points.

FT Osasuna 2 Real Betis 1: Flaño 39, Castro 79, Nekounam 93

Fact: Ruben Castro has hit the woodwork four times this season. A number only equalled by Agirretxe this season in the league.

Real Betis v Malaga

A collective sigh of relief was audible from the stands of the Benito Villamarín at full time this Saturday, as Real Betis and Málaga played out a scoreless draw. By no means was the relief to do with the home team being second best, and scraping a point on the night, but rather to the fact that it meant an end to their run of six defeats on the trot.

Pepe Mel characteristically stuck to his purist approach, starting with an attacking formation and experimentally pushing Pozuelo further up the pitch than usual to partner Jorge Molina up front, in the absence of the still injured Roque Santa Cruz. The refusal to resort to more defensive tactics, although not resulting in any goals, paid off for los Béticos.

Meanwhile Manuel Pelligrini was forced to change his starting 11 from last week’s victory against Espanyol, with Isco coming in for the injured Apoño. However, with Ruud Van Nistelrooy and ‘The Beast’ Baptista still carrying knocks, the Chilean stuck with José Salomón Rondon alone up front.

The first half was quite flat from both sides, with Betis edging it in terms of chances created. Understandably the crisis of confidence Betis has suffered of late affected their play in front of goal, but during the first 45 minutes Mels’s men dominated in midfield and looked like a side on top of it’s game, with Beñat standing out in particular.

The second half offered little in the way of action but Betis held on, and at last, luck seemed to be on their side: Rondon should have got on the score sheet when Monreal swung in a perfect cross from the left, which the Venezuelan headed straight at Casto. Not to say the hosts didn’t create anything themselves: Pozuelo coming close on 66 minutes, but steered his shot wide.

Prodigal son Joaquín Sánchez returned to his old hunting ground, but did not receive the messiah like reception he has previously come to expect from his beloved old club: previous visits by Betis’ last real idol have seen the midfielder being applauded by his adoring fans, including when he put them out of the Copa del Rey with Valencia in 2008 with two goals. Tonight though, los Heliopolitanos were especially hostile to their former hero’s homecoming, probably due to bitterness of his ability to remain in Spain’s top flight while they had to slog it out in the second division.

This harsh reception surely frustrated El Rayo (as he was affectionately known in Seville) but it wasn’t to be his or Malaga’s night. La Liga’s ‘new money’ failed once again to show any signs of understanding each other on the road: having only recorded one away win to date this season.

This gelling period that Malaga seems intent on prolonging must be frustrating los Malaguistas, but this will be of no concern to Betis tonight, as they finally see the well earned fruits of their labour.

Pepe Mel: The Thinking Man's Manager

The influence football has over Spanish life is as apparent as the correlation between MC Hammer’s shuffle-heavy choreography and the sudden boom in the sale of parachute pants in the early 1990’s. Despite the tight grip futbol has on one of Europe’s most historically rich and intensely traditional countries, the beautiful game is hardly held aloft as a bastion of cultural brilliance. The sad truth is that very little culture exists within the game itself.

Players are not a typically well read bunch, and for the most part live quite shallow and vacuous lives away from the pitch, while fine art is hardly a common topic of conversation among the stalls at your average ground either: It’s hard to imagine David Villa and Sergio Busquets passionately discussing the finer points of Alexandre Dumas’ works for example, or to envision the likes of Florentino Pérez and José Mourinho debating over what relevance the poetry of WB Yeats holds nowadays. Enlightenment, it seems, holds no significance in the sport.

Well fortunately there are some sophisticated minds dwelling within this barbarous and boorish world. Among this small group of broad-minded individuals is Pepe Mel.

The current head coach at Real Betis and the man responsible for bringing the club back to the promised land of La Primera Liga is not only a revered coach, having gained promotion for both Betis (Seville’s “other team”) and Rayo Vallecano, but since last month is also a published author-and not in the sense that “David Beckham: My Side” makes Golden Balls one. Mel has written an actual novel. Using his brain!

“The Liar” (El Mentiroso) tells the tale of Cail, a downtrodden, bored-with-life millionaire who has a penchant for collecting antiques. Our hero comes across some very valuable manuscripts which cause him all sorts of problems, including getting on the Vatican’s bad side.

While my intermediate Spanish limits me to reading at a dyslexic snail’s pace, my immersion into the novel so far has left me quite impressed with the literary prowess of the erstwhile Real Madrid and Betis striker. The story doesn’t dilly dally around, taking off at a blistering pace, much like Betis’ start to this season: winning its first four matches in its return to the top flight.

Hopefully though, “The Liar” is able to sustain its high-octane, adrenaline fuelled start: unlike the Andaluz outfit, which now finds itself starring down the barrel of a six game losing streak-the worst run of form in the division.

So what has happened to los Béticos? While the Seville club doesn’t expect to be knocking either of the Gran Clásico teams off their perches at the summit of the table any time soon, worry is no doubt setting in on this young squad of players as they see themselves slip perilously closer and closer to the drop zone.

Maybe naivety is to blame. Just as winning can become a habit, so too can losing, and this relatively inexperienced group of players might have let their heads drop on the back of a few defeats. However, this is the same team that lost five matches on the bounce last season only to go on and win the league, so a shortage of mental strength is unlikely to be the cause of their current blight.

What’s more, Mel’s men did something unusual in their ascendancy from La Segunda: played well. The reality is that Betis has stuck to its guns and adhered to the manager’s philosophy of playing silky, attack-minded football but, for whatever reason, the results don’t seem to be coming of late.

Last Sunday against Santander for example, los Verdiblancos completely dominated away from home but couldn’t find the back of Toño’s net. They controlled the game in terms of possession and shots on goal but, as the old cliché goes, were to be punished for not taking their chances. The luck was to be with Racing when they were awarded a penalty during the second half, after a reckless challenge by José Isidoro. Christain Stuani converted the resulting spot kick, and Betis went home empty handed. Again.

This week rallying calls from within the Benito Villamarín by Mel and some players defiantly pointed to the misfortune the club has suffered results wise. In a press conference on Wednesday novelist Mel admitted to some of the team’s failings in the last half a dozen games, but overall highlighted it’s miserable luck, “We didn’t play well in the Bernabéu, in the first half against Getafe or against Espanyol, but we did in Santander, in the second half against Getafe and against Rayo and Levante. In the last six games we haven’t been inferior to anyone”.

This Saturday Betis takes on Málaga at home, hoping to finally end this rotten vein of form. It won’t be easy as Pelligrini’s side is itself just coming out of its own slump and will be eager to keep the momentum going, having beaten Espanyol last week.

Here’s hoping Mel can turn the page on this dreadful chapter in Betis’ season.