La mala actuación de Casilla salió cara. By Steve.

CASILLA HORROR SHOW PROVES COSTLY

VILLARREAL 'B' - 2 FC CARTAGENA - 0

BY STEVE HIBBERD

Two bad goalkeeping errors inside 5 mins of each half, presented Villarreal with a victory that on chances created, were hugely fortunate to get away with. The games first tester produced a goal. A delightful through ball found Nicki on the edge of Cartagena's penalty area, and to his great delight realised that a sudden rush of blood to the head of Casilla had left him stranded close by, leaving the Villarreal striker with the simple task of virtually walking the ball into the back of the net unchallenged. Cartagena hit back admirably, Cala's rasping 25 yard drive hitting the post before bouncing to safety. Midway through the half, Cartagena had a clear cut penalty denied them when the outstanding Botelho had his legs taken from under him by a last line of defence keeper, but an unimpressed ref waved play on (video replays later confirmed the obvious). Lafuente deserved better, but his goal bound shot was superbly headed off the line by a home defender. When the ref blew for half time bang on 45 mins (why are stoppages in the 1st half always minimal, regardless of incidents warranting extensions?), Los Albinegros must have been cursing their normally reliable keeper for his irresponsible schoolboy error, as they had completely dominated the half.

Playing in their customary all yellow strip (hence the yellow submarine bit), Villarreal were fastest out of the blocks in the new half, Nicki forcing a save from Casilla in the 1st min. Then it was 2! Gullon struck a shot from the edge of the box, which the diving Casilla amazingly failed to stop with his outstretched arms, as the ball somehow passed through them. It should have been a routine save, which most keepers at this level would save 9 times out of 10. That was the end of Casilla's contribution to the horror show, but his team mates (especially the strikers) did their best to join him. Brazillian Botelho is a class act (on loan from Arsenal says a lot about his pedigree), and when his well aimed cross found the feet of top scorer Toche 5 yards out and the goal gaping, you'd have bet your house on him scoring - and you'd have lost. His sudden loss of form is very worrying, clearly demonstrated as he ballooned the ball high over the bar. Next, it was defender Cala who got on the missed opportunities act, when he shot over the top from only 3 yards. Substitute Keko forced a brilliant save on the hour mark, then fellow substitute Goiria headed just over with only 13 mins remaining. On 85 mins Victor's stooped header was well saved, before Goiria was unlucky when his blockbuster brought out another excellent save from the home keeper. Having dominated for large periods, Cartagena almost found themselves 3 down in the 3rd min of stoppage time, only the post prevented what would have been a cruel unjust scoreline. More bad news, in the form of unwanted bookings for Julien, Cala, Cygan, Clavero and Toche, meant that the 4 hour return journey down the AP7 would be an unhappy one.

FC Cartagena line up

Casilla, Clavero (Goiria), Cala, Cygan, Moral (Keko), Botelho, Victor, Julien, Toche, Lafuente, Longas (Munoz)

Forthcoming Fixture

Next week it's back to Cartagonova Stadium for another div 2a fixture. In form Granada, 5-0 weekend winners over Xerez, are the visitors on Sat 6 Nov ko 6pm. Visit www.nosoloefese.es or www.futbolclubcartagena.com for regular updates on FC Cartagena.