¿Se ha reventado la burbuja?. By Steve.

HAS THE BUBBLE BURST?

FC CARTAGENA - 0 CELTA VIGO - 4

BY STEVE HIBBERD

For Cartagena to succumb to a heavy home defeat against 2nd placed Celta Vigo was disappointing, but to lose top scorer Toche with a hamstring injury for up to 6 matches is nothing short of a catastrophe. When Toche limped off after only 20 minutes, and Celta 0-1 to the good, all hope of scoring seemed to disappear. With only 1 week of the transfer window remaining, it is imperative that Los Albinegros manager JIM shifts heaven and earth to bring in a proven goalscorer, for if not, I fear that any div 2a play off aspirations could evaporate well before Toche is fit to resume duty. Ok, I know that 1 player doesn't make a team, but when you consider that the clubs other 2 strikers have only scored 4 between them, then it's not rocket science to realise that either other departments start scoring more, or fresh blood is introduced. 

As with last weeks conquerors Rayo Vallecano, Celta are a class act, who not long ago were playing Champions League matches against the best in Europe, and on this showing must be favourites to fill an automatic promotion slot. Celta took the lead after only 8 mins. Ex Chelsea & Cartagena play maker De Lucas (god, how is missed is southern Murcia), provided the perfect cross, giving Rodriguez the simple task of heading into an empty net. From the next attack, a deep corner found Cygan, whose header only just missed entering the Celta net. On for Toche, Goiria thought he had scored on 28 mins, only for an offside flag to cut short celebrations. A long ball through the middle on 35 mins, landed perfectly for Toni Moral, but his hastily struck shot from 5 yards screwed horribly wide of the target, when an equaliser looked to be on the cards. As so often happens, if you don't take your chances against superior opposition, you get punished, so when De Lucas squared the ball to Cuesta (who did look suspiciously offside), his simple tap in for goal number 2 seemed inevitable. Whereas Celta seemed to be able to step up a gear at will, JIM's boys seemed to struggle, and at times appeared to be stuck in reverse!! 

The 2nd half started off pretty scrappy, but a superb strike by Trashorras on the hour mark suddenly injected some much needed life, as the men from Galicia coasted into an unassailable 3-0 lead. Goiria shot high over the bar (no surprises there then!!), before Botelho just missed the target on 75 mins. Cartagena substitute Munoz produced another of his long range thunderbolts on 79 mins, only for the crossbar to shudder uncontrollably at the ferocity of his effort. With 9 mins remaining, Trashorras grabbed his 2nd and teams 4th, although once again there was a strong hint of offside when he received the ball, before planting it low past the helpless Casilla. No complaints can be made of ref Silva, for a straight red to Cartagena no 4 (Txiki) on 83 mins, which saw him get what he deserved - an exocet missile type lunge at an opponent cannot be condoned - before the final few minutes of the match went through the motions. This defeat saw Los Albinegros drop to 5th place, with the chasing pack growing in number.

Attendance: 9,423

FC Cartagena line-up

Casilla, Herrero, Cala (Lafuente), Cygan, Txiki, Botelho, Longas (Munoz), Mariano, Moral, Victor, Toche (Goiria)

Forthcoming Fixture

With the first half of the season now complete, 2nd round of matches start in earnest next week. On Sat 29 Jan ko 6pm, Xerez arrive at Cartagonova stadium for the 2nd of back to back home matches. Back in August, Cartagena started off the new div 2a season with a dramatic win against newly relegated Xerez, and the style and zest shown during that 1-4 trouncing must be rediscovered, if a much needed double is to become a reality.

For regular updates on FC Cartagena, visit www.nosoloefese.es or www.futbolclubcartagena.com.