It could not be. For the second consecutive season, Benfica crossed the path of Barça in the maximum continental competitionthis time in an experimental Golden Cup that is being played in the Riazor and that should give way to the new European road hockey Champions.
PUB
BEN
BARCA, 4
(0+4+0+0): Sergi Fernández (p.), Helder Nunes (1, fd), Matías Pascual, Pau Bargalló, Joao Rodrigues (2, 2p.) -starting five-, Aitor Egurrola (ps), Ignacio Alabart, Nil Roca (1) and Sergi Llorca.
SL BENFICA, 4*
(2+2+0+0): Pedro Henriques (p.), Diogo Rafael (2), Edu Lamas, Lucas Ordoñez, Pablo Álvarez -first five-, Rodrigo Vieira (ps), Pol Manrubia, Daniel Oliveira ‘Poka’ , Carlos Nicolía (1, fd) and Gonçalo Pinto (1).
REFEREES
Pedro Silva (Portugal) and Rubén Fernández (Spain). They showed a blue card to Nil Roca (12:37) and Pau Bargalló (23:53), from Barça; and Lucas Ordóñez (22:43), from Benfica.
GOALS
0-1, Diogo Rafael (13:51); 0-2, Carlos Nicolía, from a direct free kick (23:54); 0-3, Diogo Rafael (28:07); 1-3, Joao Rodrigues, from a penalty (30:09); 1-4, Gonçalo Pinto (36:20); 2-4, Joao Rodrigues, from a penalty (40:28); 3-4, Nil Roca (47:03); 4-4, Helder Nunes, from a direct foul (49:27).
PENALTIES
Helder Nunes, goal (1-0); Diogo Rafael, goal (1-1); Matías Pascual, for Pedro Henriques; Poka, for Sergi Fernández; Joao Rodrigues, for Rodrigo Vieira; Edu Lamas, goal (1-2); Sergi Llorca, goal (2-2); Lucas Ordonez, goal (2-3); Pau Bargalló, for Rodrigo Vieira.
INCIDENTS
Second match of the quarterfinals of the men’s roller hockey Golden Cup played at the Riazor Sports Palace (La Coruña).
The azulgrana team knew how to suffer to force extra time when things were worst. With 1-4 in the second half, Nil Roca put the team behind him and Helder Nunes established the 4-4 direct free kick with 33 seconds left. The marker did not move in extra time and in the last penalty the substitute Rodrigo Vieira stopped Pau Bargalló’s shot to give the Lisbon team a place in the semis with the host Deportivo Liceo as their rival.
Until the middle of the first act, the duel was marked by enormous equality and great tactics, with both teams minimizing errors to the maximum, knowing how important it was to get ahead. In fact, the first clear opportunity did not come until in minute 12 Nil Roca shot dangerously to a pass from Pau Bargalló.
In such a close clash, fouls and cards took on special importance. Thus, in an action on ‘Poka’, Nil Roca saw the blue and there came the first goal of this quarterfinal. Sergi Fernández avoided Carlos Nicolía’s direct goal, but the Portuguese took advantage of their superiority for Diogo Rafael to sign the 0-1 to a pass from former Barça player Lucas Ordóñez.
From then on, the match entered a spectacular round-trip phase that delayed eight minutes the dead time that Edu Castro had requested right after the goal. Matías Pascual and Joao Rodrigues ran into a safe Pedro Henriques, while in the other goal ‘Chencho’ crossed the path of Nicolía, ‘Poka’ and another ‘ex’ like Edu Lamas.
Barça was able to balance the score when Ordóñez saw the blue in 23′, but ‘Paueti’ could not with the benfiquista goalkeeper and in the attempt to recover the ball in the attack of superiority, the referees made a double mistake showing the blue to Bargalló when the action had been committed by Matías Pascual and, furthermore, it was not even remotely deserving of a card.
As nothing was going well for the Catalan interests, Nicolía did not miss the second direct foul of the night and established a painful 0-2 that greatly complicated the Blaugrana classification for the semifinals. And to complete this fateful panorama, after an arrival of Matías Pascual in the resumption a shot by Diogo Rafael in the 28th minute hit the Argentine and threw Sergi Fernández off the scent. 0-3 against 22 minutes from the end!
Pau Bargalló did not have a good day in front of goal
| GOLDEN CUP
That’s where the usual man took responsibility, the eternal MVP of roller hockey. Pau Bargalló went in and caused a penalty that converted the second Joao Rodrigues to make it 1-3 at 28′ (Pedro Henriques went ahead on the first shot he stopped).
Barça became owner and lord of the game and created danger, but they did not have the day in attack and the second loss in a row in which the team incurred ended up drifting at 1-4, the work of Gonçalo Pinto in 37′ at the second post. Once again the company was complicated to astral levels.
They rang for an uproar and Nil Roca’s desire allowed him to force a penalty that Ordóñez committed again and Joao Rodrigues converted again at 2-4 in the 41′ minute. Benfica dedicated themselves to holding possession to the fullest despite the continuous attempts by Barcelona and Sergi Fernández fueled the dream with a sensational save against former Barça player Pablo Álvarez in one against one.
Nil Roca reappeared to make it 3-4 with 2:57 remaining and a blue controversy that Nicolía saw in the last minute allowed Helder Nunes to force extra time from a direct free kick. The first extension passed with hardly anything to report and in the second ‘Chencho’ avoided Nicolía’s goal from a direct free kick in the 48th minute due to an inexplicable foul pointed out to Bargalló. Benfica held on with nine and the match was decided on penalties.
And in the maximum penalties there was no luck either. The Portuguese reached the last round with an income goal and the team’s best player, Pau Bargalló, ran into Rodrigo Vieira, the substitute goalkeeper who came out to classify his team for the semifinals in the image and likeness of what he did in futsal Barça’s Miquel Feixas in the recent final of the Spanish Cup.