Espanyol 1-0 Getafe: Late sickener makes it four without a win

1-0 Pandiani 90'

Getafe's horror start to the season continues with last-gasp defeat in Barcelona...
... Mediocre performance breeds heartbreaking result...

Walter Pandiani came off the bench to snatch a narrowly deserved win over Getafe on Thursday night, placing the Madrid side firmly in the dropzone after their taking just one point from four games.

The sole bright spot of the evening for Geta was the debut of Diego Castro, who recovered from injury in time to make his appearance at Cornella-El Prat.

Getafe's best chance of the game fell to full-back Juan Valera, who missed an easy opportunity in the second period. At the other end Juan Moyà put in a superb shift, but was denied on the rebound by Pandiani early in stoppage time.

The men in blue return to the Coliseum at the weekend to face free-scoring Real Betis in a match that, if not quite must-win, calls for a much-improved performance.

Espanyol: Álvarez; Galán, Jordi Amat, Héctor Moreno, Dídac; Verdú, Baena, Javi Márquez (Pandiani 76); Sergio García; Álvaro (Weiss 58), Thievy Koulossa (Rui Fonte 81). Getafe: Moyá; Valera, Cata Díaz, Lopo, Masilela (Miguel Torres 76); Rubén Perez; Pedro Ríos (Diego Castro 63), Casquero, Lacen, Abdel; Miku (Güiza 80).

Getafe 1-3 Espanyol: Azulones surrender early lead to on-form Perequitos

1-0 Miku 13'
1-1 Luis García 52'
1-2 Callejón 59'
1-3 Sergio García 63'

Spiritless second half sees Getafe pay the price...
Espanyol had more quality and more desire...

Getafe lost out yet again in their quest for a European place in La Liga, surrendering an early lead to suffer a 3-1 defeat to on-form Espanyol in the first match of the second half of the season.

Having lost out to the Catalan side on the opening day of the 2010-11 campaign, the desire for revenge at the Coliseum was plainly evident. It went some way to being fulfilled when in the 13th minute Miku opened the scoring. The Venezuelan managed an absolute peach, weaving his way into the box past two defenders to shoot low past Carlos Kameni.

Stats Getafe - Espanyol 45% Possession 55% 5 Shots on target 6 5 Corners 5 107 Balls Lost 110 81 Balls Recovered 83 0 Yellow Cards 0 0 Red Cards 0 15 Fouls Committed 6

Espanyol enjoyed some pressure after this, but the half ended with Daniel Parejo missing an absolute sitter - something that would cost Getafe dearly.

Seven minutes after the break Espanyol's renaissance began. Luis García was given too much time and space at the near post to control a Sergio García cross, and the deadly forward was able to launch a superb shot into the roof of the net from a narrow angle.

Getafe utterly collapsed at this point as José Callejón added a deserved second. The 23-year-old headed home from six yards a deep free-kick from Luis García, the home defence yet again found wanting in their own box.

Sergio García completed the eleven-minute, three-goal haul shortly afterwards with the simplest of first-time finishes, taking advantage of a Callejón through ball on the break.

Getafe have now gone five games without a win in all competitions and need a positive result at struggling Levante next Saturday to turn their recent run of poor form around.

Getafe: Ustari; Miguel Torres, Cata Díaz, Rafa, Marcano; Boateng (Casquero 72'), Víctor Sánchez (Albín 63'); Pedro Ríos (Colunga 73'), Parejo, Manu; Miku. Espanyol: Kameni; Chica, Forlín, Víctor Ruíz, Dídac; Duscher (Jordi Amat 79'), Javi Márquez; Luis García, Verdú (Iván Alonso 89'), José Callejón; Sergio García (Cristian Álvarez 76').

Jornada 1: Espanyol 3-1 Getafe

1-0 Osvaldo 33'
2-0 Osvaldo 54'
2-1 Galán (og) 61'
3-1 Datolo 90+4'

A disappointing, but unsurprising opening to the season.

Late September Redux

1. The aforementioned game at Espanyol was a 1-1 draw
2. We narrowly lost to Atlético Madrid 2-1 at home midweek
3. Joffre Guerrón has twice almost got into fights in training - his rationale is that he is "envied" by the rest of the squad.

Let the good times roll!

Getafe Lineup At Espanyol

Marca have just confirmed our first eleven to face Espanyol at Montjuïc. It's live on Sky Sports in the UK for those lucky enough to have access; others can no doubt find streams online.

Anyway, the team: Jacobo; Cortés, Cata Díaz, Mario, Licht; Guerrón, Celestini, Casquero, Gavilán; Manu, Albín.

This means that the likes of Uche and Soldado are on the bench. Will it pay off?

AUPA GETA!