El Cartagena no reacciona en Madrid. By Steve.

LETHARGIC CARTAGENA STRUGGLE IN MADRID 

AD ALCORCON - 1 FC CARTAGENA - 0 

BY STEVE HIBBERD 

Up against a side sitting just outside the play off places, Los Albinegros put in a luke warm performance, and in all honesty, were lucky to come away from Santo Domingo Stadium conceding only a solitary goal. Declaring they are goal shy is an understatement, for a record of 16 hits from 23 games is poor, to say the least. Carlos Rios is the 3rd manager of a troubled season, and although he is the most successful, even he has failed to discover the secret of how to find the back of the net!! 

This defeat provided the men from Madrid (Alcorcon is a suburb of the capital city) with a deserved double, having triumphed 2-0 at Cartagonova Stadium back in mid September. More worrying for Carlos Rios boys is the drop back into the relegation zone, although forthcoming fixtures are certainly winnable against sides in the bottom third of the table. This game was a case in point, when highlighting not only Cartagena's failure to score, but also the total lack of chances created - a big fat ZILCH to be precise! Apart from a 35 yard drive by Raimondi, which flew high over the intended target, the visitors were totally void of ideas. Alcorcon meanwhile, were far more inventive, and it was only the bravery of keeper Juanma that prevented a certain goal for the dangerous Borja, who looked certain to stroke the ball home before it was snatched from his foot. 

Even the excellent Juanma could do nothing to prevent the goal on 42 mins, when a superb right wing cross by Borja found an unmarked Quini, leaving him the simple task of side footing home at the far post. Quini almost made it 2-0 only 3 mins into the 2nd half, but his fine effort from the edge of the box, inched past the post. Next it was Borja again, who troubled Reina with a fierce shot, which he not only saved, but did well to block the rebound. By the hour mark, it looked only a matter of time before Alcorcon would double their advantage, but time and time again, Juanma came to his sides rescue by pulling off superb saves. 

Then came a lull in proceedings, before a combination of Juanma's brilliance, and poor finishing, denied the home side from adding to their tally, on at least 3 occasions, in the final 10 mins. A home game against Guadalajara, who currently have 6 points more, awaits Cartagena next week. Make a note of Sat 3 Mar, ko 6pm, at Cartagonova Stadium, for this hugely important div 2a fixture. For regular updates on FC Cartgena, visit www.nosoloefese.es or www.futbolclubcartagena.com.