29.01.2011 19:58
Prestigious point (1-1)
Aida Soriano
Barça B took a hard earned point from their game against Celta at the Mini Estadi this evening with an early goal from Edu Oriol (min 8) matched by a 62nd minute equaliser from Alex López.
Luis Enrique’s team faced a tough start to the second half of the league, with the visit of
Celta, who are third in the league and have lost just two games so far this season (one of those in
the opening game
against Barça B
). This was a hard fought game for the B team, in which the visitors created more chances
and Bartra played a key part at the heart of defence. The point leaves Barça in sixth spot with 32
points, although that may change with the result of the Granada-Betis game.
Early strike
Barça B established control over the game early on and Edu Oriol put
them one up on 8 minutes after Marc Muniesa had brought the ball out of defence to set up Jonathan
Soriano who played Edu in to shoot at a sharp angle past the Celta keeper Falcón to the delight of
the 4.263 spectators at the Mini.
Celta reaction
Celta reacted to the goal and hit back by taking the initiative and creating a couple of good
chances for De Lucas (min 13), who fired his shot over the bar, and David Rodríguez (min 20), who
just failed to latch onto a loose ball.
Control
Although the hosts made few further chances in the first half, they did take control again
after withstanding that Celta pressure, though the defence were called upon to cut out a number of
counter attacks from Paco Herrera’s team.
De Lucas fires early warning
The second half began with a Quique de Lucas shot and that set the tone
for the second half, as both teams saw chances go begging. With Soriano, injured, replaced by Saúl,
Barça lost their reference point up front and their next chance came from a break by Tello down the
left.
Celta draw level
After a couple more good opportunities to draw level, Celta finally got on the scoreboard
when De Lucas set up Álex López in the box and he fired past Miño at the near post. Now the
visitors’ tails were up and they chased the second goal with insistence, whilst Barça tried
to hit them on the break, with Ilie and Thiago both testing Falcón. Just when it looked as if the
hosts had weathered the storm, Celta came very close to going ahead, with only a last gasp tackle
on 82 minutes from Sergi Gómez keeping out the visitors’ attackers.
Late Falcón stop earns the draw
There was still time for Barça B to come close to grabbing the three points though, with
Falcón pulling off a great save from a deflected Thiago effort on 89 minutes to ensure the draw.
Photos: Àlex Caparrós-FCB.
MATCH STATS
Barça B, 1
Celta, 1
Barça B: Miño, Montoya, Sergi Gómez, Bartra, Muniesa, Ilie, Dos Santos, Thiago,
Edu Oriol (Víctor Vázquez, min 72), Tello (Rafinha, min 61), Jonathan Soriano (Saúl, min 46).
RC Celta de Vigo: Falcón, Mallo, Lago, Jonathan Vila, López Garai, Trashorras
(Joan Tomás, min 86), Bustos, David Rodríguez (Iago Aspas, min 81), De Lucas (Jota, min 92),
Catalá, Álex López.
Goals: 1-0 Edu Oriol, min 8; 1-1 Álex López, min 62.
Referee: Melero López.
Carles Puyol watched the game from the stands.