12.03.2007, 10:40
Unsuccessful Spanish Cup for the CL Teams

Portland and Valladolid suffered surprise defeats in the Spanish Cup. The early exit gave the teams more time to prepare for the upcoming CL semi-finals.

Unsuccessful Spanish Cup for the CL Teams

Portland and Valladolid, the two Spanish CL semi-finalists had a bad Spanish Cup weekend. The two teams lost in the quarterfinal and were out of the competition. Barcelona have won the final against Ademar Leon at the end.

Leon defeats Valladolid

Valladolid were near to clinch the semis. They played a tough and beautiful match against Ademar Leon. Pastor’s team looked to win all the way, but Leon could make a draw and the extra time decided.

The ten minutes were not enough for the teams, so Ademar and Valladolid had to shoot five penalty shots. Saric, Serbian goalkeeper of Ademar saved the penalty shot of Valladolid winger, Rentero. All other players scored and Ademar reached the semi-finals.

Portland's shock-defeat

In theory, Portland had an easier game against Algeciras. Equisoain’s team were tired after the CL encounter against Ciudad Real and Algeciras won 30-25.

As Portland and Valladolid were out of the Spanish Cup, they had more time to prepare for the upcoming Asobal League and Champions League games.

FC Barcelona won the Spanish Cup at the end. The Catalonians won against Ademar Leon 33-27. The Croatian goalkeeper Venjo Losert was a very important player for his team, and Barcelona were leading throughout the entire game. Espar and his team have shown their best performance in the season and won their first title this year.

TEXT: Fernando Urra Goñi