After a sensational second-half comeback, after going 5-1 down at the interval, Barça Alusport have secured first place in the regular season table and will have home court advantage all through the play offs.
Match stats
LOBELLE SANTIAGO, 5
FC BARCELONA ALUSPORT, 6
Lobelle Santiago (5+0): Álex, Aicardo (1), Rubi (2), Pola (1), Diego
–starting five-, Charlie, Rafael, Raúl Campos (1), Luis.
FC Barcelona Alusport (1+5): Paco Sedano, Saad (1), Fernandão (1) Chico (1), Javi
Rodríguez (1) – starting five -, Wilde (1), Lin, Ari Santos, Carlos (1), Jordi Torras.
Goals: 0-1, Fernandão (3’); 1-1, Pola (8’); 2-1, Raúl Campos
(11’); 3-1, Rubi (12’); 4-1, Rubi (18’); 5-1, Aicardo (19’); 5-2, Wilde
(22’); 5-3, Chico (23’); 5-4, Carlos (31’); 5-5, Saad (38’); 5-6, Javi
Rodríguez (39’).
Referees: Sanzol Goñi and Urdanoz Apezteguia. Yellows for home players Rafael and
Charlie, and for visitors Saad, Javi Rodríguez and Paco Sedano. Red for home player Rafael.
Venue: Multiusos Fontes do Sar (Santiago).
Barça have finished top of the futsal regular season table for the first time ever. It may only be
an honorary title, but it means they will get home court advantage in all postseason matches. And
they did so in amazing style, by coming back from 5-1 down in Santiago.
Rather than depending on what happened between El Pozo and Caja Segòvia, who ended up
drawing, Barça Alusport have finished top of the table on their own merit thanks to an
extraordinary comeback from four goals down.
Dreadful first half
Despite looking good for the first few minutes and going 1-0 ahead through
Fernandão, FCB were awful in the first half, and Lobelle punished them for it. Pol equalised after
a defensive mix-up, and then Raúl Campos scored a second far more easily than he should have been
allowed. Moments later, a Saad mistake led to Rubi making it 3-1. Those had been four minutes to
forget.
Barça couldn’t even make up the deficit from the penalty spot, when Ari Santos missed
his chance, and the half ended in further disarray, with Rubi getting his second before there was
still time for Aicardo to make it five from a spot-kick.
Champions react
Carmona had some serious talking to do in the dressing room. Even though there was
hopeful news coming through from Segovia, Barça Alusport’s first half performance was beyond
belief. The second half was too, but for very, very different reasons. The action had barely
resumed before Wilde and Chico had scored to narrow the deficit to two.
It was a very different Barcelona in the second half, who dominated the play in devastating
fashion, and were further boosted when the hosts’ Rafael was red carded. Lobelle looked
exhausted after their first-half exertions, and a powerful Carlos volley soon had Barça within one
at 5-4. Carmona went for a rush goalie system, and such ambition paid off when Saad completed a
terrific move to equalise the match.
With a minute and a half to go, a penalty on Wilde was converted by Javi Rodríguez and the
FCB comeback was complete. It was unbelievable stuff, and those three points mean the Palau will
now be the venue for most of the Barça action in what promises to be a fascinating playoff series.