Málaga CF arrived in Pontevedra last Friday as reigning juvenil Spanish champions, ready to defend their title achieved last year in Vera (Almería). Today they took a major step forward to reaching their goal. The Blue and Whites were victorious in the opening match of the competition, defeating FC Barcelona by 4-2.
In the initial stages of play, both teams alternated opportunities, until the referee awarded a penalty in favour of FC Barcelona in minute 11. Kellyan prevented his team conceding a goal and Mboula’s shot was deflected.
A few minutes later, Dely Valdés’ boys took the lead thanks to a superb goal from Hugo in the 15th minute (1-0). The number ‘7’ picked up an excellent pass between the lines from Maty behind the defence, and surpassed the rival goalkeeper with great definition on one side. With the scoreboard in their favour the Malaguistas attempted to contain possession, however the referee called another penalty in favour of Barcelona. On this occasion, Pérez found the net to level up the scoreboard (1-1, minute 19).
The rival from La Masia went in front thanks to another goal from Pérez in a tricky move inside the area in minute 38. At half-time, the result remained at 1-2.
In the second half, the Blue and Whites stepped on to the pitch with the same philosophy as in the first half – trying to find the equaliser, not letting the two rival goals condition them and not giving up. Juande had a promising chance following a corner kick early on in the second half, but it wasn’t until the 66th minute that the Blue and Whites levelled things up. Álex Robles served a magnificent pass from the right, allowing Joel to slam the ball into the back of the net with a mighty header (2-2).
With both teams level pegging, the MCF Academy side went all out on the attack, and the ref signalled a penalty in the Blue and Whites’ favour in minute 71. Escardó was successful from the 11-metre mark, outwitting the keeper and putting his team back in the lead (3-2).
In the final stretch of play, the strong defence shown by the Blue and Whites repelled the attacks from the rival, and controlled the pace of play. Jony, who joined the game in minute 87, sealed the final 4-2 win with a fantastic goal from a direct free kick in front of the area. The juvenil player executed a powerful and precise shot, rendering the stretch of the rival keeper useless.
Following this magnificent performance, the reigning champion of champions make a big step forward towards defending their crown, and are in the semi-finals of the competition.
Match stats
Málaga CF: Kellyan, Robles, Álex Sánchez, Juande, Yousef, Iván (Escardó 64’), Hugo (Eppy 79’), José Carlos (Jony 87’), Joel (Hicham 76’), Maty and Alberto.
FC Barcelona: Puig, Morer, Montes, Rey (Chumi 75’), Cucurella, Busquets, Mboula, Collado, Guillemont, Pérez and Tur (Alasana 75’).
Goals:
1-0: Hugo, 15’.
1-1: Pérez, 19’.
1-2: Pérez, 38’.
2-2: Joel, 66’.
3-2: Escardó, 71’.
4-2: Jony, 90’.
Referee: Martínez Santos, Oscar. Yellow cards were shown to Malaguista, Maty (33’); and from FC Barcelona, Busquets (46’) Cucurella (88’) and Montes (89’).
Information: Match corresponding to the quarter-finals of the Copa de Campeones Juvenil. Kick-off was at 10:00 at Baltar de Portonovo Football Ground (Pontevedra, Galicia), in front of 3,000 spectators.
