FC Cartagena 0 - CD Linares 3. By Steve.

"DO I NOT LIKE THAT"
FC CARTAGENA - 0 CD LINARES - 3
BY STEVE HIBBERD

Those once heartfelt words of resignation, exclaimed painfully by an ex England boss on the verge of being sacked, could well apply to Cartagenas present incumbent.
Last Sundays defeat removed Cartagena from the play off places, and without doubt has placed Jose Montes position as manager in serious jeopardy. The fact that 3 key players were missing through injury, is no excuse. His troops performance was totally unacceptable. They all need to take a long hard look in the mirror for a reality check. Lets hope that in the reflection, they see that of Stuart Pearce, his face contorted with passion and desire to win, with a willingness to die for his club.

For if they don´t perform with more commitment than has been on display in recent weeks, then we can kiss goodbye to qualifying for the play offs. Linares had come to Cartagonova Stadium on a mission. They fully deserved victory over a team, which is now below them in the pecking order. One sickening statistic sums up Cartagenas naivety in finishing off sides - Cartagena: 23 corners compared to Linares: 4 corners!! Obviously, with 4 games still to be played, anything is possible, but for the first time this season, Cartagena must rely on other sides slipping up. So, not only did Los Albinegros fall to a 2nd consequetive 0-3 defeat (biggest deficit since 03-04 season), but their unbeaten home league record has well and truely gone up in smoke (last league defeat at home was 05/06 season). It was a joy to watch the 500 or so Linares fans massed behind the clock end, suitably dressed in their clubs replica blue and white shirs, outsinging over 3,000 home fans. They showed a strong resemblance to the most vocal and passionate fans in England - Hampshires finest (its official, top of the Sunday Mirror poll!!).

FC CARTAGENA TEAM
CABALLERO, LEO, LUSARRETA, OSCAR RODRIGUEZ (ELIAS 65), CABREJO, ORLANDO, MARCO, SIVORI, CARMONA (TEO 60), MOLIST, OSCAR RICO (SABINO 51)
Cartagena kicked off without the services of the injured trio, Chito, Lafuente and Mariano ´Mr Dependable´ Sanchez. Any regular readers will know whats coming next! Yes, you guessed it - Cartagena missed a sitter in the opening minutes. Once again the indignity fell to Sivori, whose shot from Molists cross hit the post, with the goal at his mercy after only 4 mins played. Linares soon hit back. Following on from 2 close shaves, when Cartagena rode their luck, Linares exploited woeful defending as Pedro Diaz headed home the opening goal, virtually unmarked on 22 mins. If the opening exchanges belonged to Linares, Cartagena certainly dominated the period up to the interval. On the half hour mark, Oscar Rico did well to create space for himself, but his shot lacked accuracy. His captain Sivori, faired no better when his firm header sailed agonisingly over the bar. Finally, on the stroke of half time, Molist was guilty of wasting a glorious opportunity, when he too shot wide.
Half Time: Cartagena - 0 Linares - 1

Neither side were playing creative football, when out of the blue, disaster struck!! A harmless cross should have been a bread and butter clearance for the Cartagena defence, but alas, they allowed veteran Brazilian striker Catanha to score with a superbly brave diving header. With 56 mins on the clock, a point, let alone victory, was looking as likely as Osama Bin Laden turning up at a George Bush birthday bash!! Hitting the post is often deemed as unlucky - but is it bad luck, or just downright bad finishing? I suggest that when Molist hit the far post, with most of an unguarded goal to aim at, the latter most definately applies. For once, Sabino was on target from the rebound, but the celebrations were cut short by an unwanted linesman flag. Soon after, Linares should have put the game beyond doubt, when a Peter Crouch clone, Sergio Posigo, should have done better with an unchallenged header, which went wide. This was great end to end stuff - superb entertainment for the neutral, nailbiting torture for the home fans. A brilliant solo run by Linares outstanding winger Sierra, resulted in his shot just missing the target. Although Molist almost scored, but for a brave save at his feet by keeper Manu, it was Linares who scored again after 86 mins. Nothing had seemed to stick for Cartagenas keeper Caballero, who will probably be dropped for the next match. He could only parry a shot straight to the feet of super marksman Diaz, who gleefully dispatched his 2nd goal of the game. As the game entered stoppage time, both goalies brought off fine saves, especially the one to deny Sivori a consolation goal.

Division 2b - top 5

1. Cordoba - 66 points
2. Sevilla ´B´ - 66 points
3. Portuense - 64 points
4. Linares - 63 points
5. Cartagena - 61 points

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

When a team has collected just 2 points from a possible 12, the last thing they need is a hard away local derby. But thats exactly what Cartagena have got in store next match. Mid table Murcian rivals Aguilas, provide the opposition at their tiny El Rubial Stadium on Sunday 6 May, ko 6pm. All top 4 sides will be at home, as Cartagena must go one better than the 2-2 draw recorded from the last meeting at Cartagonova Stadium back in December.

Sunday 13 May - Cartagena v Alcala
Sunday 20 May - Extremadura v Cartagena
Sunday 27 May - Cartagena v Ceuta