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Match
Marcador del partit
- Date: Thursday, 31 May
- Competition: ???label.competicio23???
- Stadium: Nou Estadi, Tarragona
Resultat:
- Gimnàstic: 3
- FC Barcelona: 4
Match report
Match Report
The goals
1-0, Ismael (8’)
2-0, Merino (34’)
2-1, Giovani (59’)
2-2, Giovani (60’)
3-2, Rubén Castro (63’)
3-3, Matellán (pp, 76’)
3-4, Ezquerro (93’)
A thrilling comeback (3-4)
Roger Bogunyà
FC Barcelona have qualified for the final of the Copa Catalunya thanks to 3-4 away win against Nàstic Tarragona in the Nou Estadi. All four Barça goals came in an exciting second half fight back after Barça trailed by 2-0 at halftime.
Seven goals, red cards, debuts and a great reaction from Barça in the second half. All this was on
view in Tarragona’s Nou Estadi tonight, where Barça won 3-4 thanks to a wonderful second half
performance. Two goals from Giovani, an own goal by Matellán and a last gasp match winner from
Ezquerro overturned a 2-0 deficit from the first half. With the just 15 minutes to go, Barça were
still losing 3-2. Rijkaard’s men will now face Espanyol in the final of the Copa Catalunya on
Tuesday.
Nàstic take the lead
The match opened with Barça trying to control the action with some neat passing but it was
Nàstic Tarragona who did the damage. Former Barça player Óscar López worked the ball over from the
left for Ismael to head into the far corner to make it 1-0 after just eight minutes.
Barça reacted strongly with Sylvinho looking especially active on the left. The attacking
trio of Giuly, Ezquerro and Giovani were lively upfront but failed to produce any clear chances.
However, in the 34th minute, the game swung firmly in Nàstic’s favour when Merino went
round Oleguer to fire past Jorquera and make it 2-0. Four minutes later, Giovani had the chance to
steal one back but at halftime the score remained 2-0.
The reaction
Rijkaard introduced a number of tactical variations in the opening fifteen minutes of the
second half. Orlandi, who replaced Víctor Vázquez at halftime, looked dangerous on the left while
Ezquerro dropped back to allow Giovani to lead the attack. The changes paid off in the 59th minute
when Orlandi centred from the left for Giovani to head home and bring the game back to life.
In the very next move, an unusually attacking Oleguer provided the pass for Giovani to score
the equaliser.
From 2-2 to 3-3
However, joy was short-lived for the Barça players. In the 63rd minute, Rubén Castro found
himself with only Jorquera to beat and made it 3-2. Nàstic seemed to be regaining the upper hand
but when Morales was sent off for a second yellow card, the home side lost the initiative and an
unfortunate mix-up between Serrano and Matellán led to an own goal (3-3).
The winning goal
In the second half, Frank Rijkaard gave their first team debuts to Barça B players Toni
Calvo, Lluís Sastre and Thaer. In the dying minutes Pinilla saw a red card for arguing with the
referee. Reduced to nine men, Nàstic could do little to stop Barça from scoring the winning goal in
time added on. Orlandi provided another precise cross from the left for Ezquerro to head home and
put Barça in the final of the Copa Catalunya.
Preview
Espanyol in the final
The semi-final between Lleida and Espanyol was played on Wednesday, with Espanyol beating Lleida in a penalty shootout after the match ended in a goalless draw. The final will be played in the city of Sabadell (about 20 km inland from Barcelona) on Tuesday.
Youngsters get their chance
Sergi Nogueras
Barça play the semi-final of the Copa Catalunya tonight (Thursday) against Nàstic with a team of young hopefuls. They will be looking to impress the manager and stake their claim for a more permanent place in the senior squad.
Barça’s Copa Catalunya semi-final match against Nàstic kicks off at 10 pm and will be shown
live on Barça TV and Barça TV Online. With much of the senior squad dispersed around the world on
international duty, manager Frank Rijkaard has called up many young players from the Club’s
reserve and youth squads. Motivation won’t be lacking among these young players, who will be
looking to seize the chance to impress.
10 players from the Academy: Counting the 9 players from the reserve squad plus
one more from the youth team, more than half of tonight’s squad is made up of players from
outside the first team: Giovanni Dos Santos, Crosas, Sastre, Olmo, Orlandi, Toni Calvo, Valiente,
Thaer, Víctor Vázquez and Sergio Busquets. Just eight senior squad players have been selected:
Belletti, Oleguer, Jorquera, Sylvinho, Motta, Ezquerro, Giuly and Valdés.
No internationals: A total of 14 senior squad players are unavailable for
tonight’s match. Thirteen of them are away on international duty while Rafa Márquez is still
sideline by injury. In addition, Barça B forward Bojan Krkic – who would probably have
featured tonight - has also been called up for the Spain under-21 squad.
A foretaste of the final league match: Nàstic and Barça are also
scheduled to meet in the very last league match of the season. That match will also be played at
the Nou Estadi in Tarragona but Frank Rijkaard will then be able to call on the complete squad for
a match that could decide the league title.
Nàstic need a boost: With relegation to the Second Division now a reality, Nàstic
will be hoping to rally their long-suffering fans with a win tonight in the Copa Catalunya. Manager
Paco Flores will also be giving some of his fringe players a chance to shine, including goalkeeper
Alvaro, defenders Marco and Serrano, and forwards Makukula and former Barça player Barça Oscar
López, who could make his comeback tonight after being injured for most of the season.
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