FCBARCELONA.CAT

20.12.2008 14:00

Three hard-earned points (0-1)

Cristina Collado

Barça Mobicat has picked up all three points away at Marfil Santa Coloma and remains seeded for the Cup draw. The home side put up stiff opposition in a close-fought encounter.

It was third against last in the First Division but the difference between the two sides wasn’t that noticeable out on court in Santa Coloma. The home team have already shown their mettle against the top sides in the League by beating ElPozo and drawing with Inter Movistar, and this Saturday they put in another fine performance against Barça Mobicat in the Catalan derby.

Home side dominate

Marfil Santa Coloma dominated the start of the game by putting on the pressure as Barça Mobicat tried to build attacks, and they created a lot of chances. Rafa Marques had the first in the second minute when he brought a fine save out of Cristian, and then Lorenzo had another opportunity on the break only to see his effort saved once more by the visitor’s keeper.

Barça Mobicat’s first clear chance didn’t come along until the 12th minute when Fernandao’s shot hit home keeper Igor flush in the face. From then on Barça looked more dangerous and Saad Asís was unlucky not to score with one of his hallmark drives from outside the area.

Chico strikes

But Marfil Santa Coloma kept plugging away and they created another chance when Igor’s long ball put Guille clear in the Barça area only for Cristian to block.

In the end Barça Mobicat managed to break the stalemate when Chico fired home a fierce drive. The Brazilian then almost made it two but his header went narrowly wide. The scoreboard still read 0-1 at half-time.

Different game

The first few minutes in the second half were a different game as Barça Mobicat swarmed forward. Igor, Chico and Javi Rodríguez all had shots in the first three minutes of the half. The home team used the keeper/outfield player option in response with ten minutes left on the clock.

Ex-Barça player David Herráiz and Rafa Marques shared this role and managed to threaten Cristian’s goal. With six minutes to go Javi Rodríguez had a good chance to add to Barça’s lead on the break but home keeper Igor kept him out.

The game remained alive right up until the end as Marfil continued with their five-man attack and constantly threatened to draw level. However, they were denied by a solid Barça defence and the excellent Cristian Domínguez as the visitors ran out winners by 0-1.