Cordoba v FC Barcelona B: Late reward (1-2)

Cordoba v FC Barcelona B: Late reward (1-2)

A last minute penalty from Espinosa earned Eusebio a win in his 100th game as manager of Barça B Dani Nieto opened the scoring, but Mendi pulled his team back with a controversial leveller

Barça B worked well to get the three points at Cordoba. The visitors went ahead with a goal from Dani Nieto and managed to hold the Cordoba onslaught at bay until Mendi equalised in controversial fashion. Espinosa finally earned the sixth win of the season with a late penalty on a day in which Eusebio, who was sent off for protesting Cordoba’s equaliser, was able to celebrate his 100th match in charge.

Nieto determinant

It took a quarter of an hour for Barça to get into their rhythm, when rapid runs from Dani Nieto started creating all kinds of damage. The closest the Catalans came to scoring was a free kick that hit the bar.

It was also Nieto who finally found the net, when a cross into the area was deflected by Edu Bedia and Nieto pounced on the opportunity to fire his team into the lead.

Busy half

The goal did nothing to dampen the home spirits, with Cordoba doing plenty to keep debutant goalies Adrián Ortolá busy. But it was Barça who got the closest chance, and Dani Nieto was once again involved, leading a rapid counter attack but failing to find Sanabria with a through ball that, had it connected, would surely have been the second of the night for FCB.

Cordoba press

Cordoba kept pushing after the break, with López Silva only just failing to find the target. With both sides playing ambitious football and leaving gaping holes at the back, the biggest surprise was that there were no further goals, but neither side’s strikers were having the luck they needed over the final yards.

Gradually, Cordoba started playing more and more in the Barça half, but Ortolá was performing superbly between the visitors’ nets. However, there was a setback for Eusebio when Sandro was injured precisely after being involved in a promising attacking move.

Controversial goal

The talking point of the game came when a 50/50 ball was headed for Mendi and Ortolà. The Barça keeper caught the ball in the air and Mendi slammed into him. It was clearly a foul by the Cordoba player but the referee did nothing and the home striker stroked the ball home into an empty net. A furious Eusebio was sent off for protesting.

Late reward

But the home joy was short-lived, with the third and final goal of the evening, in the final minute of play, once again having Dani Nieto as the protagonist as he was brought down in the area. A cold blooded Espinosa stepped up to take the penalty and placed it brilliantly to the left of Saizar.

The win in Eusebio’s 100th match in charge puts some valuable breathing space between Barça B and the relegation zone.

Força Barça
Força Barça

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