FCBARCELONA.CAT

24.02.2007 14:27

Only a great comeback in the Palau will do (31-21)

FC Barcelona Cifec lost by 10 goals away to Flensburg and will have to rely on an epic comeback to overcome the tie in the Palau Blaugrana. Xesco Espar's team did little right either in attack or defense.

FC Barcelona Cifec lost by 10 goals away to Flensburg and will have to rely on an epic comeback to overcome the tie in the Palau Blaugrana. Xesco Espar's team did little right either in attack or defense.
31-21 away to Flensburg leaves only the magic of the Palau to help get through the quarterfinals of the Champions league. In the firat tie, Barça were unable to stop the Dane, Christiansen and couldn't break down a splendid Beutler. For Barça, only Venio Losert lived up to expectation.

Christiansen, a nightmare for Barça

The first half had one star: Christiansen. Barça were incapable of stopping the Danish player, who scored seven goals, more than half those scored by Flensburg in this period. The other handicap for Xesco Espar's team was the inspired performance of goalie Beutler, who seemed to stop everything.

Flensburg try to break away

Despite everything, the beginning of the game was quite evenly matched. Attacks were slowed by good defensive work in both teams. Until the 16th minute, when the Germans led by 8-6, neither team had managed a lead of more than one goal. Barça could have drawn level, but then a 4-0 series of scores brought about the the first important gap (12-8). Far from giving up, the “azulgrana” set about a recovery, mainly through Iker Romero, who until then had been well marked by the Germans, and got to half time with the result at 13-10. 

A big lead

After an acceptable first half, Barça had a bad time of it in the second. The “azulgrana” showed little clarity in attack and Flensburg increased the gap steadliy. In spite of a good performance by goalie Venio Losert, the Germans took advantage of times when in numerical superiority and posted a lead of 20-14 in the 41st minute. Xesco Espar's team showed little power of reaction and the rival took advantage of this to extend their lead. 13 minutes from the end of the match, Flensburg already led by eight goals (24-18) and FC Barcelona Cifec's attempts to make up the difference were to no effect, as the final score of 31-21 clearly indicates.