Winning start to pre-season
Valencia were handed a late scare as they saw off Emmen 3-2 to get their pre-season campaign off to a winning start. The Spanish side headed to the Netherlands to face the Dutch Eredivisie side FC Emmen, who finished 12th in their league last season. With plenty of transfer activity over the summer, and several players still on international duty, it was a slightly changed starting XI for the Saturday evening friendly.
New shot stopper Wuilker Faríñez was handed a start ahead of Cillessen, while Cristiano Piccini, back at the club following a loan spell in Serie A last season, started at right back, with Wass moving into midfield in the absence of Yunus Musah. Elsewhere, Guedes dropped back to the right wing with Jason injured, while an injury to Ali Akman meant Troy Parrott was the preferred choice to pair with Maxi Gómez up front, with Loren and Kevin Gameiro on the bench.
Unsurprisingly the visitors were quick out of the blocks, going close inside the opening minute as a Wass throw in was picked up by Guedes, who created space for himself before flashing his effort just wide of the post. Racic was next to go close, seeing his effort inside the area blocked after he was picked out by Guedes. However, Valencia picked up the ball and went again, this time Gabriel finding De La Cruz in space on the left, and his pinpoint cross was met by the head of the lively Gonçalo Guedes, who directed his header home from close range.
Still shell-shocked, just a minute later hosts Emmen found themselves further behind. The danger again came down the left hand side, this time skipper José Gaya making the run, his ball inside picked up by Daniel Wass who was allowed to carry the ball to the edge of the area before drilling one home, his effort cannoning off the underside of the bar after the keeper got a hand to his long range strike.
Uros Racic again went close 5 minutes before the break, this time the midfielder both starting and finishing the move. He won the ball in the middle, finding Maxi Gómez who had pulled out to space in the left. Continuing his run into the area, Gómez produced a superb return pass which Racic volleyed just over the bar, with Wiedwald beaten.
A few minutes later it was three, Emmen the masters of their own downfall for this one with a poor cross field pass which was superbly intercepted by Portuguese winger Guedes. Driving forward down the right hand side, the wide man then found debutant Troy Parrott in space in the middle, and the on loan Spurs striker made no mistake, taking a touch before slipping in under Wiedwald.
30 seconds after the restart, Valencia went close again, this time Piccini the danger man. Playing a one-two with Parrott, the full back tried to drill one in from distance, his effort clipping Maxi Gómez on the way through, taking some of the sting out of the effort and making it an easy save for Wiedwald in the end. Piccini then turned provider for Gómez, his pinpoint cross being headed just over the bar by the Uruguayan striker. With the result looking beyond doubt, Valencia rung in the substitutions but were quickly undone, Sergio Peña springing the offside trap to get on the end of a superb through ball from Uhre to slot beyond substitute keeper Cillessen.
2 minutes from time the hosts grabbed an unlikely second, Sergio Peña again the benefactor, this time from some poor marking by Toni Lato, before beating Cillessen at his near post to put a more respectable slant on the scoreline.
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