Shaq Moore and Tenerife set the table for a high-pressure season finale, holding their hosts Girona to a scoreless draw to set up a winner-takes-all home game in their La Liga promotion playoff
FC Girona 0 – 0 CD Tenerife
With both Tenerife and their opponents Girona having knocked off the two top seeds in the semifinal of the promotion playoff, Saturday night’s first leg of the final saw the sixth-place team in the division hosting the side that finished one point ahead of them in the La Liga 2 standings.
After spending most of the season in and out of the starting lineup, Moore has been integral in Tenerife’s final push towards a possible La Liga berth, starting both of their final two regular season games as well as both legs of their comprehensive 3-1 aggregate win over Las Palmas in the semifinal.
For the fifth straight game he was on the field from the opening whistle, and had a solid outing during his 90 minutes on the right side of the defense. He was only marginally involved in the attack, with only 27 attempted passes (21 of which were completed), not shots or created chances, and only one off-target cross attempt.
However he cleanly locked down his side of the field for opposing attackers, making three interceptions and three clearances, winning his only attempted tackle, making six recoveries, winning three of five duels, only being beaten once on the dribble, while committing no fouls.
Samuel Shashoua was on Tenerife’s bench for the game, however was not called into action over the course of the 90 minutes.
Girona had the best chance of the game in the 39th minute, when Aleix García charged into the Tenerife half of the field, drawing several defenders in his direction, and picked out Álex Baena with a through-ball to the right.
However, Tenerife keeper Juan Soriano came up big, making the first of his four saves of the evening to preserve the scoreless results.
The hosts were generally the more dominant of the two sides, holding 70% of possession and outshooting their visitors by a 16-3 margin. Still, Tenerife executed their conservative plan to perfection, preventing their hosts from creating any real danger, thus putting the tie on even terms ahead of 90 minutes in front of a friendly crowd.
It all comes down to one final outing for Moore and his teammates. They will host Girona on Sunday night, and the winner – either after 90 minutes or a nail-biting extra phase – will be promoted to La Liga for the 2022-23 season.
