Pablo Hernández: the 10 defining moments of year one at CD Castellón | OneFootball

Pablo Hernández’s first year in charge of CD Castellón transformed relegation anxiety into a tilt at promotion, and he has renewed until 2029 to continue the work. It was his first campaign managing a professional side.

According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, he stepped up from the reserves after matchday five as interim coach, then drove a surge up the table.

His debut in León brought a 1-3 win over Cultural. The first outing at SkyFi Castalia delivered a third straight victory, 3-1 against Sporting. A late twist against Málaga flipped 0-1 to 2-1 in stoppage time at SkyFi Castalia.

By mid November he was confirmed for the season and marked it with a breathless 5-4 over Real Sociedad B. A 1-3 win in Andorra put Castellón in the play-off places for the first time, where they stayed, and a 1-3 comeback at Deportivo in Riazor underlined their intent.

Another marquee away display, 0-4 at Valladolid, preceded February’s step to the summit. Beating Deportivo 2-0 completed the rise to top spot.

Setbacks followed as red cards and penalties mounted, yet they beat Almería 2-0 in Easter week and toppled Burgos 3-1 and Málaga 2-3, Cala hitting a hat-trick.

The run-in tightened, direct promotion slipped and the play-off race grew costly. Castellón won 0-1 at Huesca, then edged Eibar 2-1 in a near play-off rehearsal.

In the semi-final with Almería they fell short, without Mellot and World Cup players, despite a budget gap close to four times. Those lessons should aid their next step.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo