Today’s workout against Funchal enabled Pepe Mel to see the defensive level his side were acquiring as part of their pre-season preparations. Portuguese first division outfit CS Marítimo made Las Palmas work much harder than in their games against Gran Tarajal and Tamaraceite.
The away side played well in the first half, who made the Portuguese side work hard all over the pitch. The Portuguese are known as a physical team at home, but they hardly troubled the goal defended by Josep Martínez in the first half. In attack Las Palmas lacked the killer touch following the many chances they created down both wings.
The starting line-up is gradually taking shape, while a number of players are expected to leave. Martín Mantovani and Mauricio Lemos joined forces in central defence. In the anchor role, Mel opted for the duo of David Timor and Galarreta. The attack was led by Sergio Araujo, escorted out wide by Cedrés and Benito, while support striker was Kirian. The wings were taken by Eric Curbelo and Alberto De la Bella.
The second half saw the Madeira side go ahead through a penalty by Getterson (m. 55). A string of substitution meant the match lost much of its shape. Las Palmas could have pulled level in the 66th minute, but a header by Srnic flew over the bar. The final whistle blew with a one-nil defeat against the Portuguese team.
The next stage of pre-season preparations takes the team to Marbella on Monday. Las Palmas will play four friendly matches against Cádiz, Almería, Granada and Real Betis, in Seville, as a testimonial to Rubén Castro.
MATCH STATS:
CS MARÍTIMO, 1: Silva; Zainadine, Jorge Correa, Edgar Costa, Kerkez, Ferreira, Erivaldo, Fabicio, Nanu, Vukovic, and Getterson. Manager: Nuno Manta. Substitutes: Abedzadeh Grolli, Lucas Africo, Teles, Pinho, Maeda, Bambock, Barrera, Cley, Fabio China, Pelagio, Marcelinho, Cardoso and Mateus.
UD LAS PALMAS, 0: Josep Martínez; Eric Curbelo, Mantovani, Mauricio Lemos, De la Bella; Gallarreta, Timor, Benito, Cedrés and Araujo. Manager: Pepe Mel. Substitutes: Álex Suárez, Deivid, Pedri, Javi Castellano, Srnic, Dani Castellano, Fabio, Edu Espiau, Jesús Fortes, Toni Robaina and Álvaro Valles (ps).
GOAL: 1-0, min. 55: Getterson, penalty.
REFEREE: Tiago Neve, Portuguese Federation.
STADIUM: Estadio dó Marítimo (Funchal, Madeira). 6,000 fans
