Elche CF wrapped up the first week of the international break with a clear victory in a preparatory friendly. Sebastián Anselmi's side beat FC Cartagena 3-0 in a match played behind closed doors at the Diez Iborra sports complex on Thursday.
A match split into two halves
The Argentine manager organised the duel into two 60-minute parts to distribute the workload among his squad. Without three of his called-up internationals, Anselmi took the chance to rotate and test different combinations. The goals came from Josan, Diang and young Martim Neto, sealing a commanding result for the Ilicitanos. Cartagena, whose league match was postponed, accepted the friendly as valuable competitive tuning.
Lomónaco's opportunity
One of the most notable aspects of the match was the unofficial debut of Kevin Lomónaco in an Elche CF shirt. The player, wearing the number 15, completed his first minutes with the team since his arrival. Anselmi was precisely looking to assess his fitness and integration within the collective scheme in a lower-pressure context. The coach shared minutes among most of the available players, giving rhythm to those who needed it most. The coaching staff will analyse the performance shown in this friendly to make decisions for the next starting lineup.
The opponent's assessment
After the match, FC Cartagena manager Iñigo Vélez thanked Elche for the opportunity to face them. "It's a very important tune-up because we don't have a match this week," Vélez explained. "Some people needed to play more minutes and I'm truly grateful to Elche for allowing us to play this match at their sports city."
Next steps for Elche
Elche CF now turns its attention to the next phase of preparation. The team will hold a training camp next week in San Pedro del Pinatar to continue working towards the resumption of the competition.
