Jorge Molina and Rubén Castro liven up Betis’ party

Betis put four past Real Zaragoza at the Villamarín this afternoon to register their fourth win in a row and edge them ever closer to a return to the top flight. The Seville Fair, celebrated this week, will taste all the sweeter to the fans thanks to braces from Ruben Castro and Jorge Molina, who are slowly but surely carving their place into the history of this great club.

The gap at the top is back up to six points. Zaragoza, meanwhile, have fallen out of the playoff spots. The visitors at times looked like they deserved something from the game, but poor finishing and defensive errors cost them dearly. Popovic’s team face an uphill battle to reach the playoffs if they continue playing like this.

Betis started brightly. Lolo Reyes came close with a long-range shot and Cabrera clearly handled in the box. Soon after, Zaragoza had a great chance but Borja failed to place his shot from close range. Referee Trujillo Suárez, one of those referees with whom it’s difficult to fathom why they’re officiating professional fixtures, was poor throughout. He failed to award clear penalties to both teams and to use his cards sensibly.

The visiting side’s best moments came in the middle of the first half. They looked good going forward and Pedro hit the bar. But the first goal came at the other end for a striker currently enjoying a sweet 2015 with ten goals in his last nine games at the Villamarín. Molina took his time in the box and placed his shot right in the corner. Bounou could do nothing, like any other keeper in that situation. Twenty-nine minutes gone: 1-0 to Betis. A few minutes later, the Zaragoza keeper pulled off a great point-blank save from Ruben Castro to keep his side in the game.

But the keeper could do nothing with Ruben Castro’s powerful header soon after the break. Zaragoza started the second half strongly but the Canarian striker extinguished their dreams of a comeback finishing from inside the six-yard box on fifty-two minutes. He rarely misses from there.

From then on, Zaragoza looked impotent and Betis rounded off the game with a couple more goals, one each for Castro and Molina. The league leaders registered yet another 4-0 win (they beat Osasuna by the same score line two weeks ago) and look perfectly poised for a return to the top flight. It really helps having one of the best forward duos in the club’s history firing on all cylinders.

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