Real Zaragoza 1-1 Getafe: Late fightback preserves unbeaten record

1-0 Lanzaro 38'
1-1 og (Paredes) 78'

Disappointing showing against the basement boys - but one point is brought home...
... Getafe now haven't lost in four matches ahead of the grudge clash at Santander...

Getafe came from behind to secure a draw against last-placed Real Zaragoza, whose impressive home support and fighting spirit was not enough to end their shocking winless run that now stretches to three months.

The Azulones have every reason to be disappointed with the outcome, but had they been offered a draw at half time there is no doubting that coach Luis García would have accepted.

Zaragoza's fans - in the midst of a vocal protest against the club's leadership - were out in force to see their side start strongly, with Ivan Obradovic bringing out the best in Miguel Moyà early on after a corner.

Ten minutes from the break a fine Dani Güiza header similarly tested Roberto at the other end.

But mere seconds later, Luis García's corner found Maurizio Lanzaro, whose excellent headed effort was too much for the visiting 'keeper to deal with.

Getafe tried to fight back as Javier Casquero moved forwards and outwards to support Abdel Barrada, but the first half ended without another goal.

After the break the visitors threw men forward, introducing Diego Castro and the back-from-injury Pedro León in an attempt to overload the Aragonese outfit.

Zaragoza, for their part, also tried to break forward, but they were left heartbroken as twelve minutes from time Pedro León's corner was attacked by Rafa and the home defence, at sixes and sevens, suddenly had the ball in their own net through ex-Getafe man Javier Paredes.

Next Saturday brings a trip to Cantabria to meet Racing Santander in what is usually a fraught encounter.

Zaragoza: Roberto; Lanzaro, Da Silva, Paredes, Obradovic (Edu Oriol 90); Zuculini (Abraham 84), Pintér; Rubén Micael, Luis García, Lafita (Aranda 72); Helder Postiga. Getafe: Moyà; Valera, Cata Díaz, Rafa, Masilela; Pedro Ríos (Diego Castro 58), Míchel, Casquero (Pedro León 71), Abdel Barrada; Dani Güiza (Juan Rodríguez 90), Miku.

Zaragoza 2-1 Getafe: Azulones' race to relegation continues apace

1-0 Ponzio 13'
2-0 Bertolo 25'
2-1 Casquero 45'

Another embarrassing defeat for Getafe all but ends survival hopes...
... Visitors are relegation stick-ons while Zaragoza can dream of survival...

Getafe can look forward to Segunda División football next season after falling to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of their relegation rivals of Real Zaragoza.

With the visitors needing at least a point to arrest their recent slide, instead they surrendered early and ended up on the end of a deserved loss.

The Azulones are four points clear of the dropzone on paper, but with the worst winless run in the division and an array of difficult road games coming up, it seems as though Getafe's Primera adventure has come to an end.

Zaragoza were dominant in the opening stages and were rewarded for their ambition with a goal. Leonardo Ponzio took the ball unopposed from the centre circle to 20 yards from goal before shooting low and true past Oscar Ustari.

The hosts doubled their advantage in the 35th minute with a splinded counter-attack orchestrated by none other than former Getafe striker Ikechukwu Uche. The Nigerian broke from his own half into Geta territory before unleashing a tremendous through ball to Nicolás Bertolo, who made no mistake when one-on-one with Ustari.

Javier Casquero gave Getafe a glimmer of hope just before the break with a thundering drive from eight yards after Zaragoza failed to clear their lines of a Pedro Ríos cross.

Both sides had their chances in the second period, but the hosts were largely in control and thus merited their three points. Indeed, Getafe played the final eight minutes with just ten men after Manu del Moral left the pitch due to injury with no substitutes available, further underlining the ease of the Blanquillos' task.

Zaragoza move up to 17th place on 33 points, one fewer than Getafe. Geta welcome Sevilla to the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Saturday.

Zaragoza: Toni Doblas; Diogo, da Silva, Lanzaro, Obradovic; Ponzio (Jorge López 69'), Gabi; Boutahar (Lafita 85'), Ander (N'Daw 74'), Bertolo; Uche. Getafe: Ustari; Miguel Torres, Cata Díaz, Marcano, Mané; Pedro Ríos (Adrián Sardinero 46'), Casquero (Arizmendi 80'), Boateng, Manu del Moral; Miku (Parejo 68'), Colunga.

Jornada 12: Getafe 1-1 Zaragoza

0-1 Bertolo 33'
1-1 Colunga (pen.) 49'

Getafe could not make pressure count against a ten-man Zaragoza side who also had chances to kill off what was an entertaining but low-quality match at the Coliseum.

The hosts' failure to find the net increased their winless run in La Liga to four games, although the previous three were defeats.

It's a particularly disappointing result given that Zaragoza played most of the second half a man down, and the Aragón side both began and ended the night in last place.

Zaragoza took the lead just after the half hour mark in bizarre circumstances. Jordi Codina came 40 yards off his line to the touchline to meet a speculative ball forward but made a hash of his clearance; Argentine midfielder Nicolás Bertolo - who had a superb game - duly dispossesed the 'keeper and chipped the ball into the net from a distance.

Adrián Colunga levelled the score five minutes after the break, slotting home a penalty after Dani Parejo was unfairly challenged in the box by Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who received a yellow card.

Also booked on that occasion was Leonardo Ponzio, who saw yellow for dissent, and that was to cost him dearly as in the 63rd minute he was sent off for a second cautionable offence after handling Manu del Moral's cross just outside the area.

Getafe poured forward in the closing stages but could not find either the finish or, in truth, much by way of a meaningful final ball; Zaragoza looked dangerous on the counter once or twice but themselves lacked definition.

Next: a trip to Andalucia on Saturday evening to face Sevilla.

Zaragoza 3- 0 Getafe Video

A grim afternoon in which the Azulones offered little.

Uche, We Hardly Knew Ye

Ikechukwu Uche has left Getafe for Real Zaragoza in a deal worth around €5m.

Although Ike did not start every game, he was highly rated by both the coaching staff and the management at the Coliseum, Angel Torres being a particular admirer of his.

But now that he's moved on - and not for a massive fee - we have lost a great talent.

Uche arrived from Recreativo in 2007 after four years in Andalusia, having been in Spain since he was a teenager.

Although he never really replicated his old goalscoring form at Geta, he had a habit of netting at just the right time. He scored the infamous 'celebration' goal against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, and also struck against Osasuna under Michel at the end of last season in the game that gave fans faith in our survival.

I wish Uche the absolute best of luck at the Romareda!

Apologies For My Absence

Hella busy of late. Normal service to resume soon.

The same applies in goal: Pato is back tonight for the Trofeo Ciudad de Zaragoza at the Romareda.

You Know What Happened

Nothing can be said about the Bayern game that hasn't already been said, but I'd like to reiterate my congratulations to everyone at the club. To come so close with ten men against so great a side is fantastic. Here's to going further next year. Video soon.

0-0 at the Coliseum at the moment against Zaragoza.

Squad Announced For Hapoel Tel Aviv Match

Squad to meet Hapoel Tel Aviv:

Porteros: 1. Ustari; 13. Pato.

Defensas: 2. Contra; 3. Cata Díaz; 4. Belenguer;
12. Licht; 19. Signorino; 21. D. Cortés.

Centrocampistas: 7. Mario Cotelo; 10. De la Red;
11. Sousa; 15. Nacho; 22. J. Casquero; 24. Pablo Hernández; 25. Granero.

Delanteros: 9. Braulio; 14. Manu; 16. Albín; 17. Kepa.

Contra and Belenguer are back and fully fit, then, but there's no Uche, who is out for two to three weeks.

Still, that should be enough to see us past a singularly awful Hapoel outfit who are still bottom of the Israeli top division. True enough, they've started to turn it around a bit lately, and they've parted ways with their old manager... but, c'mon now. Home advantage? One loss in seven? Aye, it's all Geta here.

Oh, and the less said about the 1-1 draw with Zaragoza at the weekend, the better. We should have won that, but for Pato's error.

Squad for Zaragoza match

In a hurry so C&Ped:

Porteros: 1. Ustari; 13. Pato.

Defensas: 2. Contra; 3. Cata Díaz; 4. Belenguer;
5. Mario; 12. Licht; 21. D. Cortés.

Centrocampistas: 10. De la Red; 11. Sousa;
16. Albín; 20. Pallardó; 22. J. Casquero;
24. Pablo Hernández; 25. Granero.

Delanteros: 14. Manu; 17. Kepa; 18. Uche.

Belenguer and Contra back - that's the big news. Whether they actually start or not remains to be seen.

Zaragoza squad:

César, López Vallejo, Paredes, Óscar, Ayala, Aimar, Sergio García, D'Alessandro, Juanfran, Oliveira, Gabi, Celades, Zapater, Diego Milito, Chus Herrero, Goni y Valero.

That's right: 17 players. They have a bunch of injuries, Matuzalem and Sergio Fernandez being by far the most significant ones. There's still plenty of firepower there, though..