Half an hour was enough for Girona to get into the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. But what a half hour! A spectacle of offensive football (nine shots, four on goal, three goals) that left Rayo Vallecano stunned and prolonged the state of absolute happiness experienced in Montilivi. It is the leader of the League, one point ahead of Madrid, which has one game less, and is among the eight best teams in the Cup for the second time in its history. If he crosses that border and sneaks into the semifinals – on Friday he will meet his rival – he will re-enter, as Míchel would say, a new dimension.
If someone comes to Montilivi, even on an arid winter night – it was not cold, not excessively cold either – they know that they will take advantage of every minute because they are witnessing something as new as it is surprising. Old football fused with modern football. Players who understand the game and also enjoy the game.
Young guys, like Miguel, who revolutionize the role of left-back – isn’t he a midfielder? or interior? or extreme? – or people with so much skill that they dignify their sport, as if it were Portu, the effort put at the service of the group. Effort and altruism, capable of being decisive in Stuani’s two goals, a ‘nine’ who never seems to rust no matter how much he has to live on the bench in the shadow of Dovbyk, that Ukrainian monster discovered by Quique Cárcel.
Portu, the star
He may not appear on any cover, but Portu was the star of the night. The 1-0 is not understood without that leg that stretches – and it is small – to prolong Tsygankov’s pass, how elegant and precise this cold and impassive Ukrainian is!, and assist the captain. In the penalty, Portu fought with mischief and cunning to provoke a maximum penalty that did not exist anywhere. Only in his determination and dedication. Thus the 2-0 was born.
By the way, not even the penalty was taken according to tradition. Stuani chose the daring route of signing a Panenka. In other words, the ball entered softly and delicately through the center of the goal, mocking the fall of Cárdenas, Rayo’s substitute goalkeeper, who beat himself to his left.
El Rayo looked at the scoreboard scared. Not even 20 minutes into the match and they had already conceded two goals from Girona, a team that does not negotiate football. He only understands it by looking at the attack, while Montilivi was already singing “Míchel, català, Míchel, català”!, a prelude that the best was yet to come.
Not even half an hour and Portu, a guy with infinite hunger, leaned back on the right wing to sign a poisoned cross to the that Blind scored a goal, a left-footed center back peeking into the right corner of the small area. But on the right side. What the hell was Daley doing there? Don’t ask normal questions for a team that has nothing normal about it. It is an extraordinary team, capable of devouring Rayo in 26 minutes that bordered on perfection: nine shots, four on goal and three goals.
But, as was seen in Almería, Girona is also an imperfect team, which revels, sometimes even gloats, in its daring. They already did it with 0-0 when a serious mistake by Juanpe was not penalized. But the clumsiness of Solís, a young and powerful center half who got tangled with the ball in the most dangerous area that exists – on the edge of the area – gave Míchel reasons to create a video of what not to do.
Antal’s brilliant debut
And Rayo, with dignity, took advantage of that gift to disguise the score, not the game. And that mistake, an innocent mistake from Solís’ youth (the Colombian is 19 years old), hindered his game and spoiled the beauty of Girona’s spectacular half hour.
In addition, of course, to unleashing the anger of Míchel, the Vallecas coach, who verbally reprimanded him from the sideline. The Girona coach made drastic decisions at half-time. He removed Arnau and put Yan Couto. He brought out Juanpe and made his debut for the Hungarian Antal Yaakobishvili, a young (19 years old) and gigantic center back (he is 1.93 m tall), brother of Yako, the Barça youth goalkeeper.
The start of the second half was nothing like the first. Not even the night because an uncomfortable and cold wind blew over Montilivi, which experienced one of its worst entries in the Cup, with only 7,911 spectators. Míchel was still angry because his team was losing absurd balls, like that of Yangel Herrera, which gave some hope to Rayo.
And at game time he protected Tsyngankov and Yangel Herrera. Both are coming off injuries and Míchel did not want to take risks so he placed Valery and Aleix García, who will not play due to suspension on Sunday against Sevilla in Montilivi.
Rayo detected Girona’s weakness and threatened danger, real danger to Juan Carlos’ goal. Míchel’s team was so asleep that it took them 25 minutes to get their first shot on goal thanks to Savinho, a winger who is worth two. He played the first half on the left flank; in the second, on the right.
Then, when Girona had been resting for too long, Antal’s defensive strength emerged to avoid the second goal and save Blind’s face by cleverly crossing to prevent Falcao from scoring Rayo’s second goal. Gross error by the Dutchman, monumental success by the young Hungarian. Quality minutes from Antal, whose feet the ball did not shake in a second half full of errors that Míchel disliked.
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Falcao, at 37 years old, was almost twice Antal’s age (19). But he did not seem intimidated by the fame that precedes the forward nor worried by the hot moment of the game in which he entered. Antal played with the authority that Girona had in that unforgettable opening half hour.
The Girona-Rayo Vallecano record (3-1)
Girona: Juan Carlos, Arnau, Juanpe, Blind, Miguel, Solís, Yangel Herrera, Portu, Tsygankov, Savinho and Stuani.
Coach: Michel
Changes: Yan Couto by Arnau (m. 46); Antal por Juanpe (d. 46); Valery by Tsygankov (d. 60); Aleix García by Yangel Herrera (d. 60); Iván Martín por Solís (d. 75).
Vallecano Ray: Cárdenas, Ratju, Abdul Mumin, Martín Pascual, Chavarría, Òscar Valentín, Unai López, Isi Palazón, De Frutos, Nteka and Raúl de Tomás.
Coach: Francisco
Changes: Trejo by Isi (m. 66); Ávaro García by Raúl de Tomás (d. 66); Falcao by De Frutos (d. 79); Pozo by Óscar Valentín (d. 82)
Goals: 1-0, Stuani (m. 15); 2-0, Stuani (de penalty, m. 19); 3-0, Blind (m. 26); 3-1, Netka (m. 36)
Referee: Figueroa Vázquez, Andalusian.
Yellow cards: Stuani (m. 45+2); Nteka (m. 45+2);
Estadio: Montilivi
Assistance: 7.911
2024-01-17 21:38:45
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