Otro puntos más. By Steve.

ANOTHER POINT TO WARDS SURVIVAL

VILLARREAL CF B 0 - FC CARTAGENA 0

BY STEVE HIBBERD

Down to 10 men after 66 mins, when keeper Reina was sent off for handling the ball outside the area, Cartagena defended stoutly to share a spoil of the points against fellow relegation candidates Villarreal ‘B’. Last season’s corresponding fixture resulted in a 2-0 victory for the ‘yellow submarine’, but under new manager Carlos Rios, Cartagena have now discovered newly found flair and confidence, which was also apparent during the win against Huesca last week. 

There were no surprises when defenders Gaspar and Cléber replaced suspended Txiki and injured captain Mariano, whilst the strike force remained unchanged. Villarreal ‘B’ meanwhile lost the services of Joselu, as he was called up for the first team, plus Mark Gullón who was suspended for this meeting. Former Cartagena player Jordi Pablo was on the bench, available to new coach Julio Velasquez, after the promotion of Molina. The game started with yellow shirted dominance, when after 3 mins a fine individual run from Luke culminated in his rising shot just missing the target. Cartagena hit back well, and both Anton and Herrero had goal bound efforts blocked on the line. The game fell into a somewhat dull phase, when both teams lost possession easily, but it was the visitors who showed a sense of anticipation and aggressiveness when winning balls in the attacking half, something we had not seen for a long time. 

That aggressiveness resulted in yellow cards from ref Hernandez Hernandez, who along with 2 home players, also booked Herrero, Anton, Cleber and Dimas (again!! – the man makes Vinny Jones look like a pussy cat!!). The best move of the game came in the 37th min, when Chus Herrero picked up a loose ball inside his own half, and spotting keeper George off his line, struck an accurate drive which was well saved by the recovering George, who pushed the ball around the post. The second half began with two clear cut chances for Villarreal, both occasions falling to Airam. Firstly, a one on one with Reina, when having dribbled it past him, somehow crashed the ball into the side netting. 

Secondly, when he had all the time in the world to place the ball into an unguarded net, he thankfully shot wide. Worse was to follow when Reina received his marching orders, although the initial contact was ball to chest, followed by a ricochet to the hand – a harsh decision to say the least. Sub keeper Juanma then entered the fray, with Lafuente being the sacrificial player. Earlier on, Toni Moral had come on for the badly injured Chamorro, who could be missing for a number of weeks. Villarreal completely dominated the rest of the match, and only spirited gritty play by a new look Cartagena did enough to gain a well earned point, which sees them move up another place to 3rd from bottom on 17 points. Next week, Cartagena host Recreativo Huelva at Cartagonova Stadium. This important div 2a match is on Sat 21 Jan, ko 6pm. For regular updates on FC Cartagena, check out www.nosoloefese.es or www.futbolclubcartagena.com.