Mejor el equipo del norte. By Steve.

TOP QUALITY AT HIGH ALTITUDE

CD NUMANCIA DE SORIA - 2 FC CARTAGENA - 0

BY STEVE HIBBERD

Played inside the small Los Pajaritos stadium, deep within the mountainous region just north of Madrid, this highly entertaining match served as a fine advert for div 2a football. Billed as a top v bottom of the table clash, basement side Numancia suddenly found form, totally belittling their win less start to the season. Chances created were evenly spread, but the quality of the 2 goals scored were of the highest quality. Manager JIM elected to start with the team that had emphatically beaten Barca 'B' the week before.

The visitors left the blocks fastest. Toni Moral had a good shout for a penalty after 7 mins, when he appeared to be tripped inside the box (or was that my rose coloured spectacles playing tricks again!!). Next it was Toche, who brought a good save at the near post out of Numancia's keeper Lafuente. From the resultant corner, Botelho headed agonisingly wide of an unguarded goal. Numancia's first real chance arrived on 27 mins, when a powerful 30 yard free kick by Dimas edged just over the bar. It required a smart save by keeper Rebollo, diving at the feet of the marauding Cedric, to deny the tricky African a certain goal. Toche should have done better on 33 mins, but his snatch shot in line with the penalty spot, missed the target with the goal at his mercy. A well worked move involving Barkero and Ibra, culminated in the latter shooting just wide of the far post, leaving the men from Murcia province, plenty to ponder during half time refreshments.

Rebollo saw immediate 2nd half action, when he saved well from a low drive by Cedric. Shortly afterwards, Toche (having an off day by his standards) headed over when in a good position to have opened the scoring. On 51 mins, a superb angled drive by Nagore brought off an equally brilliant save by visiting keeper Rebollo. Following a period of constant pressure, Numancia made the breakthrough on 64 mins with a goal made in heaven. A firmly hit corner arrived waist high some 15 yards out, when from nowhere, Numou suddenly launched himself perfectly - his diving header meeting the ball with such force that the net had bulged before you could blink an eye. Five mins later Cartagena should have levelled when Botelho delivered an inch perfect cross, but although Toche was in a good position at the far post, his final delivery was once again sadly lacking. This miss proved to be crucial, for from the very next assault, Barkero fired home a powerful drive from all of 25 yards to put the game out of Cartagena's reach.

FC CARTAGENA LINE UP

REBOLLO, BOTELHO, PABLO, CALA, TXIKI, LONGAS, MARIANO (GOIRIA), KEKO (MUNOZ), MORAL, LAFUENTE (VICTOR), TOCHE

Roll up, roll up. Next week, not only are Cartagena at home at Cartagonova stadium, but it's also the penultimate day of the Romans and Carthagians festival - complete with marches, fireworks and the obligatory funfair, all set within walking distance of the stadium. So, make a note of Sat 25 Sep, when Cordoba are the visitors for another important div 2a fixture, which has a 6pm ko time.

For further info on FC Cartagena, visit www.gotocartago.com or www.futbolclubcartagena.