Match Preview: CD Jávea vs Villena CF

CD JÁVEA vs VILLENA CF
Sunday 24th November, 12.00pm
Camp d’Esports Municipal, Xàbia

OUR OPPONENTS

Villena CF has its roots in a football club that was formed in 1920 under the name of Villena FC which reached the Tercera Divisón in the early 1950s, then the third level in the national football pyramid in Spain. After dropping back down to the regional league, the club disbanded in 1970.

The immediate forerunner of the current club, CD Villena, emerged in 1970, playing in the Murcian regional leagues until promotion to the Tercera División in 1974. Re-structing of the national pyramid in 1977 saw the creation of the Segunda División B which resulted in the Tercera División dropping a level to become Step 4 in the system.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, the club switched regularly between the Tercera División and the Regional Preferente (now playing under the Valencian Football Federation jurisdiction). At the end of the 1992-93 season, it finished third and won a spot in the promotion play-offs to the Segunda División B but the club didn’t manage to get past the round-robin post-season competition.

At the end of the 1995-96 season, CD Villena finished second from bottom and suffered relegation back to the regional leagues where it has remained ever since, switching between the Regional Preferente and the Primera Regional.

In 2004, following off-the-field issues, the club merged with Peña Villanense before a new club was formed the following year, Villena CF.

Last season, Villena CF finished 9th in the inaugural Primera FFCV with 11 wins from 30 games and a total of 38 points.

HEAD 2 HEAD

CD Jávea and Villena CF have played each other 32 times since their first meeting on October 5th 1986 when the rojiblancos lost 1-2 in Villena; the return match on February 15th resulted in a 0-0 draw. At the end of the season, Villena CF finished 5th, well short of the play-offs, whilst CD Jávea managed 8th spot.

The biggest victory for CD Jávea was on March 23rd 2003, a 5-0 victory in an end-of-season unbeaten run of 11 games, ten of which were victories and only five goals were conceded, the sort of form that would clinch the runners-up spot for the rojiblancos and a promotion play-off match against SD Sueca which was lost over two legs. It would be the last time that CD Jávea would come so close to promotion back to the national system for the first time since 1994/1995.

By contrast, Villena CF have rarely scored more than a single goal against CD Jávea, their biggest victory being a 2-0 win at home in November 1999 and they have won just three times in Jávea, the last time way back during the 1997/1998 season.

PRIMERA FFCV – Group 4

FIXTURES – JORNADA 9

Saturday 23rd November
17:00 – CD Betis Florida v CD Almoradi
Sunday 24th November
11:30 – CD Sporting de San Fulgencio v Novelda CF
11:45 – Villajoyosa CF v CD Murada
12:00 – Benferri CF v CD El Campello
12:00 – CD Jávea v Villena CF
16:00 – CD Montesinos v Santa Pola CF
16:30 – Catral-Castrum CF v Callosa Deportiva CF
17:30 – Mutxamel CF v CF Intercity ‘B’