SEVILLE WIN SPANISH SIZZLER

 

(Image taken from UEFA)

 

The UEFA Cup. A tournament only worth keeping half an eye on for a United fan, the Red Devils have only competed in it once in my memory, we usually don't need to compete in it. Other English sides (and a couple from Scotland) tried their hand this year and Spurs in particular put on a good show, however even they fell in the quarter finals. Which means that here was a year to watch this match with neutral interest and hope that the teams involved could put on a good show.

On this occassion, Europe was to be treated to the first all-Spanish final in any UEFA competition since Real Madrid beat Valencia at the Stade de France in the Champions League final of '00. This time out, the competitors were Seville and Espanyol. Now Seville were were known name, both from beating Middlesborough 3-0 in last year's final at the Phillipsstadion. Espanyol are Barcelona's second team but they've gained their own scraps of glory, notably in getting to the final of this competition in 1988! However they fell at the last hurdle on that day, losing on penalties to Bayer Leverkusen after drawing the two-legged tie 3-3 on aggregate.

This year, well Seville reminded English football fans of their quality when they beat Spurs 4-3 on aggregate in the quarter finals. Espanyol haven't had any dealings with British competition this year but beating Benefica in the quarter finals and anhiliating Werder Bremen in the semis suggested that they'd give the defending champions a match! And so two sets of Spanish supporters headed to Hampden Park promising a classic encounter.

Well both sides soon went at each other backed by loud blasts of Spanish noise by both sets of fans. Both goalies proved bust early on but it was Seville's Andres Palop that proved the more decisive, throwing the balls straight to Claro Adriano Corria who surged down the flank before lobbing the Espanyol goalie beautifully. Espanyol had no reason to lie down though and Albert Riera darted inside before unleashing another quality shot to draw things level. Seville had the edge on proceding for the rest of the half but the second half [romised much from both sides.

The second half kept the Spanish noise levels up but for a while at least the early pace of the game went down slightly with neither side really having the edge. What didn't help Espanyol much was their going down to 10 men. However the Catalans responded to the set back like it had never happened and they were the ones hammering the Seville goal late on in normal time though and though they had to dodge their share of bullets, extra time was well earned by both sides.

Extra time started in the same vein as normal time with another even encounter by the two medium profile Spanish sides. However Espanyol were soon limited to counter attacks though their defence always never looked likely to break down. However Seville kept hammering away believing that it was only going to be a matter of time before their opponents broke. And that time was injury time as a Gonzales Jesus Navas cross found Frederic Kanoute who slammed it into the net.

However, there were still fifteen minutes to go and it was Espanyol's turn to pour forward in the hope of saving themselves. Seville got the odd chance and the game looked like whatever happened, it would be one of the better UEFA Cup finals. As the clock ticked down, it looked like it would be Seville's night...untill Domingos Jonatas surged forward in the 115th minute to curl in an equaliser! Seville ended normal play on the attack but weren't able to break the deadlock and had to face a penalty shootout.

So the shoot out went like this: Seville took first blood when Kanoute scored and Fernandez Luis Garcia missed Espanyol's first attempt. Ivica Dragutinovic then score to put the Catalans over a barrel though Walter Pandiani replied to keep Espanyol in the contest and when Alves Daniel completly skied it for Seville, Espanyol still had hope. However when Jonatos missed himself and Antonio Puerta put Seville 3-1 up, it came down to Marc Torrejon vs Palop. And Palop won to ensure that Seville succsessfully defended the UEFA Cup with performances that show they'll mean business in the Champions League this year.

Closer to home and down a level, the Championship playoff semi finals were were finished off. Southamption beat Derby 3-2 at Pride Park to level the match at 4-4 on aggregate. The deadlock remained at the end of extra time and Derby won 4-3 on penalties. West Brom had a more straighforward route to the final though, beating Wolves 1-0 at the Hawthorns. So it's Derby vs West Brom at Wembley in the final and the Rams finished ahead of WBA in the League by eight points. I'll stick with my WBA hunch though.

United are going to Wembley...and so am I, but on lower profile business.

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