Castellón’s sixth-placed play-off bid bolstered by five precedents | OneFootball

CD Castellón will contest the play-offs from sixth, the lowest of the four contenders. That means both second legs away and no home advantage, and if a tie is level after extra time there are no penalties and the higher-placed team goes through.

Even so, recent history offers encouragement. According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, since the current format began in 2010/11 the last qualifier has progressed most often, a trend kick-started by Córdoba’s exceptional 2014 entry as seventh due to Barça B’s top-six finish.

Córdoba were first in 2014, ousting Real Murcia then Las Palmas in a final settled in stoppage time at the Estadio de Gran Canaria.

Osasuna followed in 2016, beating Nàstic in the semi-finals and Girona in the final. Elche matched the feat in 2020, removing Zaragoza then Girona in a pandemic-hit play-off, with Pere Milla’s late strike at Montilivi clinching it.

Rayo Vallecano under Andoni Iraola did likewise in 2021, seeing off Leganés and then overturning Girona at Montilivi in a dramatic final. The sequence for sixths continued in 2022 when Girona beat Eibar and edged a tense final against Tenerife.

Last season Real Oviedo went up from third, dispatching Almería 1-2 away before a 1-1 draw at the Carlos Tartiere completed the job. Almería are the same opponents now awaiting Castellón.

Since 2011, the third has gone up four times, the fourth and the fifth three each, and the sixth five including Córdoba, underlining that the play-off does not always reward the highest finish.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo