Getafe vs Almeria preview - Getafe looking to home comforts

Posted Friday, August 29, 2014 by PA

Getafe midfielder Diego Castro has urged the club's fans not to panic after their 3-1 defeat to Celta Vigo on the opening weekend of the new Primera Division season.

Getafe boss Cosmin Contra admitted after the game his side had been well beaten and lamented their lack of aggression, but Castro insists the team are capable of producing far better performances than they did in Balaidos.

And the veteran is looking forward to turning things around at home against Almeria on Friday.

"We've just been beaten and even though the league has just started, we are really looking forward to playing our first home game and getting three points," Castro told a press conference.

"Tomorrow we will be playing in front of our fans again, and as they really supported us last season, particularly towards the end, we need to give them something to celebrate and dedicate a victory to them."

The Madrid side's disappointing start to the season was made worse by the loss of centre-back Alexis Ruano, who has been ruled out for at least three weeks with a thigh injury, while Rafa Lopez also ended the game injured.

The absences of Contra's two first-choice centre-backs against Almeria could see the Romanian coach field youngster Carlos Vigaray at the back alongside Juan Dominguez, usually a midfielder.

However, despite these setbacks, Castro is refusing to be affected by the pessimism surrounding the team.

"If many people are predicting we will go down we must try and prove them wrong, because we have room for improvement and over the course of the season people will change their minds," he said.

Almeria began the season on a slightly better footing than Getafe after picking up a point in their opening game at home to Espanyol, but once again were left to rue conceding a late equaliser, the hallmark of their start to last season.

However, coach Francisco Javier Rodriguez was encouraged by his side's showing against the Catalans.

"Our analysis goes beyond losing our lead in the final moments, and we did many things well, even though there are other areas we need to improve in," he told a press conference.

"I don't think the result is going to affect our season too much. At the end of the day we are going to appear to be inferior to every team and we have to work in the same way in every stadium we play at. We will try and play in the same way at Getafe as we did at our place against Espanyol."