Two wins in a row!
First of all, a spectacular Liga victory over Sevilla - I'll need to dig out the YouTube clips of that game, which was full of awesome finishing and terrible defending.
Now, a deserved 1-0 win over Mallorca. All we need is a clean sheet in Palma and then it's another Copa del Rey semi!
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Oh Dear
Liga form: Poor
Uche: With Nigeria
Cup form: Good
Levante: Done for
Consolation: Scant.
The less said about the last two Liga games, the better, but without Uche, there may be more repeats to come.
Still, Levante - exhausted from their pseudo-heroic loss to Real Madrid at the weekend (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) will hopefully get a good riding tonight to get the spirits up.
Osky will be in goal as Pato is both being rested and hopefully receiving extra coaching of some description after a series of recent errors. Signorino may make a cameo, as might Tena. The midfield's fairly regular-looking, and up front is the usual motley crew. Maybe Kepa can get his confidence back, I don't know.
In any case, expect a four-figure crowd and little worth shouting about. Excelsior!
Uche: With Nigeria
Cup form: Good
Levante: Done for
Consolation: Scant.
The less said about the last two Liga games, the better, but without Uche, there may be more repeats to come.
Still, Levante - exhausted from their pseudo-heroic loss to Real Madrid at the weekend (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) will hopefully get a good riding tonight to get the spirits up.
Osky will be in goal as Pato is both being rested and hopefully receiving extra coaching of some description after a series of recent errors. Signorino may make a cameo, as might Tena. The midfield's fairly regular-looking, and up front is the usual motley crew. Maybe Kepa can get his confidence back, I don't know.
In any case, expect a four-figure crowd and little worth shouting about. Excelsior!
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Squad For Valladolid Game
Goalkeepers: 1. Ustari; 13. Pato.
Defenders: 2. Contra; 3. Cata Díaz; 4. Belenguer; 12. Licht; 21. D. Cortés; 23. Tena.
Midfielders: 6.Celestini; 7. Mario Cotelo; 8. Gavilán; 20. Pallardó; 24. Pablo Hernández; 25. Granero.
Attackers: 9. Braulio; 14. Manu; 16. Albín; 18. Uche.
It all looks fairly regular, except for the absences of Ruben de la Red and Javier Casquero. The former's suspended and the latter is ill, so the midfield pairing will probably include Pallardo and Granero.
That would allow Gavilan to play out on the left, where Granero has been deputising, and make for a balanced middle pairing.
Above all, Uche is back for his first Liga game since... umm, I forget, but either way the Pucela are in for a humping.
Defenders: 2. Contra; 3. Cata Díaz; 4. Belenguer; 12. Licht; 21. D. Cortés; 23. Tena.
Midfielders: 6.Celestini; 7. Mario Cotelo; 8. Gavilán; 20. Pallardó; 24. Pablo Hernández; 25. Granero.
Attackers: 9. Braulio; 14. Manu; 16. Albín; 18. Uche.
It all looks fairly regular, except for the absences of Ruben de la Red and Javier Casquero. The former's suspended and the latter is ill, so the midfield pairing will probably include Pallardo and Granero.
That would allow Gavilan to play out on the left, where Granero has been deputising, and make for a balanced middle pairing.
Above all, Uche is back for his first Liga game since... umm, I forget, but either way the Pucela are in for a humping.
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Getafe 4- 1 Burgos
2,500 hardy souls bothered their arses to watch this one - those who skipped it will rue missing Ikechukwu Uche's injury comeback. Our favourite Nigerian scored twice as Geta easily brushed aside Burgos in this second-leg tie.
The first encounter between the sides ended 1-0 to the good guys, and a similar scoreline seemed to be on the cards after an unspeakably dull opening period.*
Still, Uche grabbed one just before the break, before Ruben de la Red made it 2-0 just after half-time.
Uche then got his second from the spot after Andres committed a foul in the box, before a fellow called Nacho Garrido scored a penalty conceded by a man unknown. Still, Jaime Gavilan restored the three-goal advantage on his "debut" - he's back at the club for a second loan spell from drama factory Valencia - with a fourth.
One interesting factor of this game - encouraging scoreline aside - is that Pato was in goal. The talk of Oscar Ustari being moved on seems to be growing louder than ever; normally, he'd be a stick-on to play in a game like this, having played in the first leg.
Anyway, the Liga resumes this weekend as Getafe take on Valladolid.
*I'm going off Marca's live commentary here - understandably, the wise men who run Spanish television were not falling over themselves to broadcast this one, meaning no online stream.
The first encounter between the sides ended 1-0 to the good guys, and a similar scoreline seemed to be on the cards after an unspeakably dull opening period.*
Still, Uche grabbed one just before the break, before Ruben de la Red made it 2-0 just after half-time.
Uche then got his second from the spot after Andres committed a foul in the box, before a fellow called Nacho Garrido scored a penalty conceded by a man unknown. Still, Jaime Gavilan restored the three-goal advantage on his "debut" - he's back at the club for a second loan spell from drama factory Valencia - with a fourth.
One interesting factor of this game - encouraging scoreline aside - is that Pato was in goal. The talk of Oscar Ustari being moved on seems to be growing louder than ever; normally, he'd be a stick-on to play in a game like this, having played in the first leg.
Anyway, the Liga resumes this weekend as Getafe take on Valladolid.
*I'm going off Marca's live commentary here - understandably, the wise men who run Spanish television were not falling over themselves to broadcast this one, meaning no online stream.
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
Feliz Navidad
Merry Christmas, one and all.
Getafe spanked Almeria 2-0 on Saturday evening, and David Belenguer has been called up to the Catalan national side to face the Basque Country on Saturday in Bilbao. Other than that, there's really not much news.
Oh, Oscar Ustari wants to leave. Valencia calling?
Getafe spanked Almeria 2-0 on Saturday evening, and David Belenguer has been called up to the Catalan national side to face the Basque Country on Saturday in Bilbao. Other than that, there's really not much news.
Oh, Oscar Ustari wants to leave. Valencia calling?
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Getafe Top Group G After Anderlecht Win
Not even Bart Goor could rescue Anderlecht from the inevitable: Pablo Hernandez (man of the match) and Celestini netted the goals to put Getafe through thanks to a 2-1 win over the Belgians at the Coliseum.
Anderlecht still qualify, of course, along with Geta and Spurs, but that's a fine result and, more importantly, it puts Geta top of Group G with all matches having been played.
As such, the draw for the next round could prove more than favourable, although there are still some tough teams that could come out of the hat. We'll see.
Anderlecht still qualify, of course, along with Geta and Spurs, but that's a fine result and, more importantly, it puts Geta top of Group G with all matches having been played.
As such, the draw for the next round could prove more than favourable, although there are still some tough teams that could come out of the hat. We'll see.
Yuletide Redux
Time has been at a premium of late, but Getafe roll on:
Dec 6 - Getafe contrive to almost throw away an easily-gained 1-0 lead against AaB in Aalborg, eventually prevailing 2-1 in a game that was much harder than it had to be.
Dec 9 - Atletico Madrid squeeze through to the most undeserved win of the century at the Calderon with both Getafe and the hosts having two men sent off. Pato and Licht get reds for the good guys, while Reyes and Kun Aguero do so for Atleti.
Dec 10-13 - The Spanish disciplinary committee finish constructing their giant statue of Kun Aguero and, prostrating themselves below it, annul the Argentine's second yellow card, borne of a truly atrocious dive in front of Pato. As such, while the Geta goalie and Licht languish in the stands, Kun is free to face Recreativo on Sunday. The admittedly-gifted whippet then spends a fine afternoon in Huelva getting hacked left, right and centre as boos ring out around the Colombino. The hostile reception is due to the fact that the cheeky scamp scored via handball against Recre once in the past in an aincident that perhaps mirrored another deliberate* handball that took place against Getafe on December 9th.
Dec 12 - A heavily-weakened Getafe side scrapes past third-tier side Burgos 1-0 away from home in the Copa del Rey. Any visiting supporter may have been struck by the vast contrast between Burgos, a study in Spanish imperial opulence, and Getafe's own Calle de Madrid, a fine example of iron-shuttered suburban despair. But at least the latter has a good football team, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it, El Cid.
Dec 16 - Villarreal pap Getafe 3-1 at the Coliseum in a performance reminiscent of our early-season woes. Nihat ran rings around the Azulones, the midfield was off-colour, and it took Kepa Blanco of all people to pull one back for the hosts. Just when onlookers began to suspect that the former Sevilla man was a player - two goals in two games! - he promptly skied the penalty that could have given Getafe the path to an unlikely draw. Still, there's no point in blaming him for what was overall a very poor team performance.
Dec 18 - Marca claims that coach Laudrup wants a versatile defender who can play both left and centre in the January transfer window. Apparently the boss has no faith in Franck Signorino nor Manuel Tena, which would explain why the former only gets games in the cups and/or when everyone was injured and why the latter is on orange-slicing duty. No names have yet been mooted.
Heart-rendingly, Laudrup's dear old mum then emerges in the Danish press to relate a tale of how she, as an unmarried 16-year-old in conservative Denmark - almost had her firstborn aborted at her own mother's insistence, only to be saved by the kindly intervention of her dad, who claimed to be unable to find a back-alley abortion clinic. Cheerful stuff.
Later on Dec 18 - A very-much-unaborted Michael Laudrup names the following squad to meet Anderlecht:
Dec 6 - Getafe contrive to almost throw away an easily-gained 1-0 lead against AaB in Aalborg, eventually prevailing 2-1 in a game that was much harder than it had to be.
Dec 9 - Atletico Madrid squeeze through to the most undeserved win of the century at the Calderon with both Getafe and the hosts having two men sent off. Pato and Licht get reds for the good guys, while Reyes and Kun Aguero do so for Atleti.
Dec 10-13 - The Spanish disciplinary committee finish constructing their giant statue of Kun Aguero and, prostrating themselves below it, annul the Argentine's second yellow card, borne of a truly atrocious dive in front of Pato. As such, while the Geta goalie and Licht languish in the stands, Kun is free to face Recreativo on Sunday. The admittedly-gifted whippet then spends a fine afternoon in Huelva getting hacked left, right and centre as boos ring out around the Colombino. The hostile reception is due to the fact that the cheeky scamp scored via handball against Recre once in the past in an aincident that perhaps mirrored another deliberate* handball that took place against Getafe on December 9th.
Dec 12 - A heavily-weakened Getafe side scrapes past third-tier side Burgos 1-0 away from home in the Copa del Rey. Any visiting supporter may have been struck by the vast contrast between Burgos, a study in Spanish imperial opulence, and Getafe's own Calle de Madrid, a fine example of iron-shuttered suburban despair. But at least the latter has a good football team, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it, El Cid.
Dec 16 - Villarreal pap Getafe 3-1 at the Coliseum in a performance reminiscent of our early-season woes. Nihat ran rings around the Azulones, the midfield was off-colour, and it took Kepa Blanco of all people to pull one back for the hosts. Just when onlookers began to suspect that the former Sevilla man was a player - two goals in two games! - he promptly skied the penalty that could have given Getafe the path to an unlikely draw. Still, there's no point in blaming him for what was overall a very poor team performance.
Dec 18 - Marca claims that coach Laudrup wants a versatile defender who can play both left and centre in the January transfer window. Apparently the boss has no faith in Franck Signorino nor Manuel Tena, which would explain why the former only gets games in the cups and/or when everyone was injured and why the latter is on orange-slicing duty. No names have yet been mooted.
Heart-rendingly, Laudrup's dear old mum then emerges in the Danish press to relate a tale of how she, as an unmarried 16-year-old in conservative Denmark - almost had her firstborn aborted at her own mother's insistence, only to be saved by the kindly intervention of her dad, who claimed to be unable to find a back-alley abortion clinic. Cheerful stuff.
Later on Dec 18 - A very-much-unaborted Michael Laudrup names the following squad to meet Anderlecht:
Goalkeepers: 1. Ustari; 13. Pato.
Defenders: 2. Contra; 3. Cata Díaz; 4. Belenguer; 12. Licht; 19. Signorino.
Midfielders: 6. Celestini; 7. Mario Cotelo; 10. De la Red; 15. Nacho; 22. J. Casquero; 24. Pablo Hernández; 25. Granero; 42. Juanfran.
Attackers: 9. Braulio; 14. Manu; 17. Kepa.
Defenders: 2. Contra; 3. Cata Díaz; 4. Belenguer; 12. Licht; 19. Signorino.
Midfielders: 6. Celestini; 7. Mario Cotelo; 10. De la Red; 15. Nacho; 22. J. Casquero; 24. Pablo Hernández; 25. Granero; 42. Juanfran.
Attackers: 9. Braulio; 14. Manu; 17. Kepa.
Ikechukwu Uche was thought to be on the verge of recovery, but it seems as if he'll miss this game, while David Cortes and Francisco Sousa are also out.
It's more than likely that the side will be rotated, but with one point sealing passage to the next round, it may not be totally changed. Pato, for example, may take up position in goal after missing the weekend tie.
Anderlecht, meanwhile, have Bart Goor in their squad. He's a class act. The rest of them can go to hell.
Forza Geta!
*Aguero called it accidental as the world guffawed in disbelief.
It's more than likely that the side will be rotated, but with one point sealing passage to the next round, it may not be totally changed. Pato, for example, may take up position in goal after missing the weekend tie.
Anderlecht, meanwhile, have Bart Goor in their squad. He's a class act. The rest of them can go to hell.
Forza Geta!
*Aguero called it accidental as the world guffawed in disbelief.
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