UD Las Palmas go into next week’s derby match safe in the knowledge they have distanced themselves from the relegation places. Pepe Mel’s side won convincingly, and the fans were treated to a great afternoon’s football. Las Palmas went ahead as early as the 10th minute with a goal by Rubén Castro following a pass by debutant Cerés. The home side grew into the match against a Lugo side that was attempting to please new manager, Eloy Jiménez, a well known face to Las Palmas fans. Pepe Mel handed a league debut to goalkeeper Josep.
The manager was right when he said that his side was better with Sergio Araujo and Danny Blum. In another good move orchestrated by Cristian Cedrés, Rubén Castro headed just wide of the right hand post defended by Juan Carlos. On the wings, with Blum alongside the young debutant, the home side were able to gain the depth in their play that had been lacking in previous games.
Before the half hour mark Juan Carlos avoided the home side’s second goal by turning a header by Eric Curbelo around for a corner. Las Palmas began to play flowing football and with confidence. They made the right decisions at the right moment in their play. De la Bella extended Las Palmas’ lead from a free kick (min. 31). In one of the best moves of the season the home side then went three goals ahead. Galarreta played the ball through to Blum, and the German wide man crossed the ball for Rubén Castro to deftly flick the ball into the net. It was a deserved half time lead of 3-0 that put Las Palmas firmly back on track.
In the second half, Las Palmas continued to show their superiority against a Lugo side that was forced into making changes in order to improve their performance. Las Palmas rounded off their afternoon’s work with a fourth goal, this time by Maikel Mesa (min. 79). Lugo managed to score a consolation goal in the last minute through Juan Muñiz. This was the first victory for Las Palmas at the Estadio Gran Canaria under Pepe Mel. Now the yellows turn their attention to the derby match next Saturday against CD Tenerife (19.30), in the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium.
