MATCH PREVIEW: CD DÉNIA v CD JÁVEA
Sunday 3rd February 2024 · Kickoff: 5.00pm · Estadio Diego Mena Cuesta
MATCH DETAILS
SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY, 5.00pm
CD Dénia v CD Jávea
Estadio Diego Mena Cuesta
Camí de Regatxo
03700 Dénia (Alicante)
Admission: 12 euros
Referee: Francisco Barcelo Gómez
Assistants: Pablo Cordoba Cegarra & Alberto Ribera Bernabeu
The disappointment of last weekend’s home defeat to Hércules CF “B” will need to be forgotton as the rojiblancos travel over the hump to take on arch rivals CD Dénia on Sunday (5.00pm) in a bid to avenge the 0-2 reserve in the first home game of the season back in September.
Head coach Julio Ivorra will be without three key players for this crunch match. Isaac will be forced to sit out the duel after picking up his fifth yellow of the season last Sunday whilst both Elian and Marcos are unavailable due to injury.
CD Dénia will be looking to build on their stunning win at early pace-setters CD Eldense “B” last weekend which kept them away from the relegation zone. Two second-half goals from former rojiblancos Panucci cancelled out the home side’s opener to secure all three points and keep the side four points above the bottom three.
THE OPPOSITION
CD Dénia started life as Cofradía Pescadores Dénia CF in the summer of 1953, changing its name to Dénia Club Pescadores the following year. The club competed in the Segunda Regional throughout the 1950s, before changing its name once again to Club Deportivo Dénia at the end of the 1959/60 season when it won its first ever promotion.
At the end of the 1969/70 season, a ninth place finished, two behind CD Jávea, was enough to maintain their position in the top tier of regional football as the Regional Preferente was created for the 1970/71 season.
During the 1970s, the club’s colours changed from red shirts to yellow shirts and in 1974 the new football ground was inaugurated with a match between CD Dénia and Valencia CF. At the end of the decade, the club won promotion to the national Third Division.
Their first campaign in the national system, then Tier 4 in the Spanish pyramid, proved most memorably for the club finished in third place but the rest of the 80s saw Dénia bounce between the Third Division and the Regional Preferente.
At the end of the 1990/91 season, CD Dénia finished second in the Third Division behind champions UD Oliva and secured a place in the promotion play-offs which consisted of a six-game mini-league, playing CF Platges de Calvìa from the Balearic Islands, AD Mar Menor from Murcia and Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona from Catalonia. CD Dénia finished third, winning just once (v AD Mar Menor who finished bottom). The following season, they finished second from bottom to suffer relegation back to the Regional Preferente.
In 1997/98, CD Dénia won promotion back to the Third Division as champions, return to the Regional Preferente three seasons later, then winning the Regional Preferente again to win promotion back to the national system and embark on a historic period which would see the club win the Third Division in 2006/07 and a place in the Second Division “B”, the third tier of the Spanish pyramid.
In the 2007/08 season, CD Dénia reached the Round of 32 of the Copa del Rey after defeating CF Reus Deportivo, Algeciras CF and Racing Club Portuense in the previous rounds and were drawn against top flight club Sevilla CF. After a 1-1 draw in Dénia, the club travelled to Andalusia and were narrowly defeated 3-4 at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.
At the end of 2009/10 season, CD Dénia finished 5th in Group 3 of the Second Division B, a campaign in which they defeated FC Barcelona “B” 1-0 at a packed stadium in Dénia in early February 2010.
The good times weren’t to last. At the end of the 2011/12 season, the club was relegated to the Third Division was the Spanish FA due to financial irregularities and the following season, the club dropped out of the national system altogether after finishing second from bottom. Despite continued financial issues, the club reached the play-offs four times between 2015 and 2019, once as champions, but could not go overcome the next step and win promotion back into the national system.
Played for Both Teams
Due to the proximity of the two municipalities, there have been plenty of players who have turned out for both teams. Here are just a few from the past ten seasons (* = current player):
- Cherif Abdoulaye “Faye”
- Cristian Andrada
- David Cardona
- Gervasio Carril Teno
- Ayoze Espinar
- Kristian Elian Espinoza “Elian” *
- Manuel Esteban
- Mario Feliu *
- Cristian de Luis Ferrandis
- Dani García
- Raúl García *
- Paco Gázquez
- Cristian González “Panucci”
- Héctor Antoná Granados
- Juan Manuel Guerrero
- Javi Hernández *
- Julio Ivorra *
- Armando Lemos
- Antonio Lopéz “Tonet” *
- Ferran Molina
- Juanvi Ortolá
- César Ortiz
- Vicente Palau
- Alfonso Palma “Sito”
- Adrián Ramis
- Carlos Ribes
- Renzo Ridao
- Edu Samblás
- Francisco Javier Santafe
- Fran Serrano
- Juan Carlos Signes
- Michael Tomás Backaert
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
The last time we met
17/09/2023 – CD Jávea 0-2 CD Dénia
Afour-figure crowd turned out for the first ever home game in the Lliga Comunitat – and of course for the big Marina Alta derby against “them over the bump”. Two first half goals from Nano and former ‘rojiblanco’ Panucci secured victory for the visitors.
THIS WEEK’S FIXTURES
Saturday 3rd February 2024
16:00 – Hércules CF “B” v CF Independiente Alicante
17:00 – CF UE Tavernes v Callosa Deportiva CF
18:00 – CF La Nucia “B” v FB Redován CF
Sunday 4th February 2024
11:30 – Santa Pola CF v CD Eldense “B”
12:00 – CF Benidorm v L’Olleria CF
17:00 – CD Dénia v CD Jávea
17:00 – Crevillente Deportivo v CF UD Calpe
17:00 – CD Olimpic v CD Thader
References
- CD Jávea maintain top half position in table after goalless draw – javeamigos.com
