Two goals in the last 25 minutes gave Alcoyano a deserved 2-2 draw tonight in the second leg of the Copa del Rey tie. Santi Ezquerro had started the night well for Barça scoring twice in the first ten minutes. Barça progress to the last sixteen of the competition thanks to their 0-3 win in the first leg.
More than anything this game demonstrated what is wrong with the Copa del Rey format. By seeding the big teams and playing these ties over two legs you are bound to get meaningless games like this. Once Barça had gone 2-0 up on the night (5-0 in the tie) they were always going to relax. The final result will only serve to increase the general feeling of doom that many fans are expressing. At least tonight Ronaldinho can’t be blamed.
Barça played reasonably well in the first half with Deco and Gudjohnsen looking busy in midfield. In the second minute they combined with a bit of luck to set up Ezquerro with an easy finish for the first goal. Bojan Krkic was another who was lively all night but he missed a handful of chances. On ten minutes he dribbled in from the right side to set up Ezquerro for the second.
Oier Olazabal made his debut in goal and could do little with either of Alcoyano’s goals. He generally looked comfortable except for once in the first half when he went for a cross that he should have left, and ended up colliding with Sylvinho. Victor Sanchez played sixty minutes at a good level at right-back before being substituted by Marc Crosas, and Marc Valiente played the entire second half at centre half after coming on for Thuram who took a knock at the end of the first half that had him limping. Jose Edmilson had a reasonable game in defensive midfield and came through the 90 minutes despite receiving a nasty swelling by his right eye after being caught by an opponent’s elbow in the second half.
Barça should have won the game easily but they were let down by poor finishing, especially from Bojan. Perona scored Alcoyano’s first from the penalty spot on 68 minutes after Ezquerro raised an arm in self defence at a free kick and was unlucky that the ref considered it handball. Then in the 90th minute with the Barça defence offering little resistance, Arnau scored the equalizer.
Not a great performance but not a reason to panic, there was clearly a lack of intensity from Barça but we must remember the tie was already won after the first game. The Spanish Football Federation needs to change the format of the competition so as not to waste people’s time and money on games such as this. The FA Cup in England is obviously the model to follow.
Barça: Oier 6, Victor Sanchez 6 (Marc Crosas m60, 6), Thuram 6 (Marc Valiente m45, 6), Puyol 5.5, Sylvinho 4.5, Gudjohnsen 6, Edmilson 6, Deco 6, Giovani 5.5, Bojan 5.5, Ezquerro 6.5.
Goals: 1-0 Ezquerro m2; 2-0 Ezquerro m10; 2-1 Perona (pen) m69; 2-2 Arnau m90.
Barça yellow: Deco m80
6 responses so far ↓
Blaugrana // Jan 2, 2008 at 21:48
I agree this was a pointless game to such an extent that if barca lost 2-0 they would’ve still gone through, how more pointless can it get than that
Blaugrana // Jan 2, 2008 at 21:50
Oh the game wasn’t shown on tv, sylvinho 4.5 waw was he that bad nic?
Nic // Jan 2, 2008 at 22:31
Hi Blaugrana. Yes, I thought Sylvinho had a very poor game.
Nic // Jan 2, 2008 at 22:58
To put this “disaster” into context, Madrid needed a goal in the 93rd minute to put out Alicante who also play in the second division B.
Madrid’s team was: Dudek; Míchel Salgado, Sergio Ramos, Heinze, Marcelo (Miguel Torres, m.63); Gago, Guti, Balboa; Robben, Higuaín, Soldado (Saviola, m.63).
Cule // Jan 2, 2008 at 23:42
Nic,
Cheers for keeping Barça fans worldwide in the loop. I’ll be making the Haj for the Barça-Real Valladolid match in March and your blog has been a real Godsend. A pity about the lacklustre performance, but I agree it’s not quite cause for undue concern. I do find myself a bit worried by a general lack of commitment from the team (sure, there are always a few who give a good effort - Messi, Iniesta, Puyol, Bojan, Gudjohnsen [at times]. A few players do not make a team! Do you feel this is due to a generalized malaise under Rijkaard, a need for replacements (not merely new talent) or lockerroom discord?
Anyway, I really enjoy reading your blog and look forward to it daily: often humorous, always entertaining and invariably informative. Keep up the fantastic work and thank you!!!
Best,
Daniel
Nic // Jan 3, 2008 at 1:08
Hi Daniel, thanks for your kind comments.
As for the commitment levels it’s difficult to say, but I always say that hunger and desire for success are vital ingredients to win. It’s all about how much you want it. Some players keep this hunger throughout their careers, others can’t maintain it. At the moment everyone is pointing the finger at Ronaldinho, and maybe he has lost the hunger. I’m hoping his pride will be hurt in a positive way and that he can bounce back to somewhere near his best. I still don’t think we should sell him (yet). We should always remember that for all the money players earn they are still human beings and they have their ups and downs like all of us. I believe that it is always in the best interest of the fan to support the people representing the club, but of course it is understandable that we get frustrated.
Rijkaard has his faults, but again I feel he should be judged at the end of the season, until then we should all get behind him. It’s so easy to call for the managers head, however, sacking a manager mid-season often makes things worse and should only be done when things are really bad. At the moment things are not so terrible - they can’t be if Barça are still favourites for the Champions League with all the bookmakers.
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