¡¡ Que no cunda el pánico !! By Steve.

NO NEED TO PANIC - YET!

FC CARTAGENA - 1 XEREZ CD - 2

BY STEVE HIBBERD

Losing against 2nd, 3rd and then 4th in the league isn't exactly a disaster, but sudden lack of ideas, chronic shortage of strikers, and failure to bring in fresh blood is. This defeat saw Cartagena slip out of the play off zone for the first time since early season, and with tough away matches at Elche and Barcelona 'B' to come, the ship needs steadying - pretty damn quick! Basic errors now seem to be occurring on a regular basis, not only in defence, but bread and butter supplies to the front men are far too easily being gobbled up. Manager JIM experimented with 3 changes for this important div 2a match, the strangest seemed to be that of central defender Cala being relegated to the bench.

The game was only 2 mins old before a terrible back pass let in Xerez striker Josemari, whose shot flew wide with only Casilla to beat. A rare start for Goiria seemed to inspire confidence, his shot from the edge of the box sailing over the bar on 9 mins, as Cartagena got into their stride. Chances for both sides were coming thick and fast, as long range shots were the order of the day. First Cordero, then Lomban shot wide of Casilla's near post, before Moral struck back for the home side - his well struck free kick being saved by keeper Chema. Twas Mr reliable, Victor, who put Cartagena ahead on 22 mins, slotting home Goiria's pin point cross at the far post. Four mins later, Goiria should have added another, but from a corner, whilst standing under the cross bar, he somehow managed to blast his shot sky high - his last contribution, before hobbling off with a hamstring pull. No one was marking the dangerous Josemari on 30 mins, as he gratefully put away a low cross at the near post, giving Xerez a deserved equaliser. Just before the break, Pablo almost put the visitors ahead, but his free kick just missed the target.

Xerez almost took the lead on 51 mins, but Cordero's long range shot smacked against the cross bar. From the next attack, Victor saw his diving header well saved, then from the clearance, a superb individual effort by Oscar almost produced a goal, but his final effort was just off target. In an off the ball incident, Victor appeared to be flattened inside the penalty area, but ref Torres was unimpressed. On 65 mins, Moral's fierce shot was well saved, but worse was to follow. The loose ball eventually found Josemari, who coolly rounded the onrushing Casilla (his rush of blood to the head is rapidly becoming a trademark, bringing back memories of 'Calamity James' unfortunate bloomers!), before slotting the ball into an empty net. Botelho found himself in a good position to level the scores, but he shot into the side netting as keeper Chema narrowed the angle. When Lomban picked up a 2nd yellow card for handball on 76 mins, numerical advantage should have galvanised Cartagena into action, but apart from Moral's shot being well saved on 88 mins, Xerez were let off lightly, and it was they who deservedly finished the day in 4th position.

Attendance: 7,000

FC Cartagena line-up

Casilla, Cygan, Clavero (Dani), Mariano, Herrero, Botelho, Moral, Munoz (Longas), Goiria (Lafuente), Victor, Exposito

Future Fixure

With Real Murcia no longer in div 2a, the nearest league match for Cartagena is Elche. On Sat 5 Feb ko 6pm, Cartagena will visit Elche, full of revenge for the less than deserved defeat inflicted on them by the divisions 'bad boys'. Many hundreds of Los Albinegros faithful will be making the short journey up the AP7, for what should be a tasty encounter - to say the least (not one for the faint hearted, so beware!). Regular updates on FC Cartagena can be found by visiting www.nosoloefese.es, www.gotocartago.com or www.futbolclubcartagena.com.