Los errores tumban al Cartagena. By Steve.

COMEDY OF ERRORS OUTDOES CARTAGENA

FC CARTAGENA - 0 HERCULES CF - 3 

BY STEVE HIBBERD 

The last thing any team needs when playing against strong opposition such as Hercules, is to concede 2 soft goals inside the first 25 mins, but early last Sunday afternoon, that is exactly what Los Albinegros did. Having worked hard to propel themselves above div 2a relegation zone, 2 bad defeats on the bounce has reversed the trend, resulting in them now being 3 points from safety on 20 points (Alcoyano fill the coveted 5th to bottom slot). A disappointing 6,300 fans gathered inside Cartagonova Stadium for this reverse fixture, in which Hercules triumphed last August, and had to wait until the 13th min before witnessing a goalscoring opportunity. From a corner, Urko headed just wide, but less than a minute later, the Hercules front man set up the games opening goal. 

His routine shot was heading straight for Reina, before a wicked deflection off team mate Sanchon, left the horrified custodian wrong footed, as the ball trickled just inside the post. Alvaro completed a well rehearsed shot on the run, which scraped the paint off Hercules cross bar, before the game turned into a farce once again. When Arbilla appeared set to pull the trigger on a 30 yard drive, there looked to be not the slightest of worries. That was before the ball somehow squeezed past defender Herrero, then through the legs of keeper Reina, who in all fairness was unsighted by his colleague, before once again rolling over the line. It could have got worse on 32 mins, had ref Lopez penalized defender Txiki for putting his hands up to protect his face inside the box, but thankfully he waved strong appeals away. Lafuente came close to opening the account for Cartagena, forcing a good low down save from keeper Falcon. Raimondi should have done better on 43 mins, but the Uruguayan bean pole leant back before whacking a good opportunity over the bar, as Los Albinegros departed the fray at half time less than happy. 

Hercules should have made it 3-0 inside 2 mins of the restart, but this time a ricochet did not come to the rescue of a wayward shot. On the hour mark, Collantes produced a pearler of a long range free kick, but alas it failed to test the keeper. Deputizing for suspended Paz, Goni became the next joker in the pack, when he stupidly upended an opponent on the edge of the box. The resultant penalty was suitably dispatched by Michel, leaving the home side dead and buried on 71 mins. Manager Carlos Rios has now got 6 days in which to lift his side for the next div 2a fixture. On Sat 11 Feb, ko 6pm, Cartagena travel to Barcelona, hoping that their young 'B' side will not be as awesome as they were when they triumphed last time around. For regular updates of FC Cartagena, visit www.nosoloefese.es or www.futbolclubcartagena.com.