Barça Borges can afford to do nothing but win to maintain their lead on Ciudad Real. But with all of Víctor Tomás, Juanin, Jernemyr and Sjöstrand out, the two points were going to be costly today.

There is little doubt that the team had lost a bit of the momentum they picked up in the first phase before the World Cup hiatus, but they are getting back into their rhythm, and today looked like their good old selves.

Dominance from start to finish

Arrate were soon put to the sword, with the home side clearly the superior outfit, and a second minute 3-0 set the pace for things to come. Barça Borges wanted to get this game over and done with as quickly as possible, and they did just that with fast, direct attacking moves and some excellent combination play.

The 6-0 system was working, and although Saric allowed some sloppy goals, he also produced some brilliant saves. The Bosnian always gives it one hundred per cent, and was a spectator for much of the time as the gap starting widening: 7-3, 9-4, 13-5...

Cristian Ugalde, with six goals in the first 30 minutes, was the star performer in a dictatorial Barça Borges, who dominated 18-10 at the break. Iker Romero (4 first half goals) also stood out.

Iker and Ugalde get 8 goals

Xavi Pascual rotated his bench at the break, but the goals kept coming (21-12). The win was not in doubt, but the players took their jobs seriously and never showed signs of relaxation.

It was all too easy for Barça Borges, and both Ugalde and Romero scored eight goals each, none of which were penalties. For the former, that was his best tally of the season.

Minutes for youngsters

Pascual then gave some time to young keeper Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, whose first intervention was to save a penalty. Carlos Molina also went on, and added a goal that was greeted with a hearty cheer from the crowd.

Barça Borges ended the game with an 18 point lead, and even more importantly, have stayed top of the league and showed that they have recovered the stunning form of the first half of the season.