*DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF A TEAM THAT GAVE IT THEIR ALL*

It wasn't meant to be. Our reserve team suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat against a Ronda side that gave it their all to take home the three points.

Ronda came out with an unbeatable start. With a very high tempo, great intensity, and strong pressure, they dominated the first 20 minutes.

We couldn’t find a way to counter that dominance or impose our own game. And Ronda soon found their reward. A turnover by us in our defensive zone was capitalized on by David Pastor, who, unmarked, headed in the 1-0 goal.

Despite the home team’s superiority, our players never lost their composure and managed to withstand the home side’s attacks, which constantly threatened our area.

The Ronda players began to show signs of fatigue from their intense physical effort. And little by little, the match took a 360-degree turn. Our team began to take control of the game, dominating play and creating danger with quick combinations that started to seriously trouble Ronda’s ironclad defense.

But it was our captain, Miguel Montesinos, who stepped up to the plate, and from about 30 meters out, with one of his trademark strikes, sent the ball into the back of the net, slotting it right into the top left corner defended by Guille, and tying the score at 1-1, which did justice to the game. That’s how we went into halftime.

After the break, both teams were evenly matched. Although Ronda, thanks to their experience and the greater veteran status of their players in this type of match, had that slight "edge" over us.

Antonio Sánchez’s men couldn’t find any rhythm in their play, and the home side, seasoned by countless battles, knew exactly how to play their cards right and wait for the right moment to seal the match.

And so it happened: with 6 minutes left in the game, once again David Pastor—the star of the match and local hero—took advantage of a poor clearance by our defense inside the box to beat Raúl once more, securing the victory for his team and, in the process, their survival in the division.

There is nothing to fault our boys for. The team has once again been dealing with numerous absences all week—due to injury, work, illness, etc.—and has had to rely on youth players again; Alberto Leyla from the Cadet A team even made his debut due to the many absences.Added to that was the departure of Pomares, who has now definitively moved up to the first team.

Even so, the lads are having a great season and still have their fate in their own hands to make the playoffs. KEEP IT UP, GUYS! WE ARE ESTEPONA!❤️💙💪🏻