Despite dominating possession and playing against 10 men for 35’ minutes, Barça B failed to find the back of the net.
A Promising Start
The first minutes of the game showed a Barça B that has rarely been seen this season. Good spells of possession, winning lost balls back immediately and a sense of purpose. It wasn’t perfect but it felt different than what we had grown accustomed to this season.
The sense of purpose didn’t last too long. Those first couple of minutes, Barça B was building up beautifully, getting into the box with ease. No shots were being fired off due to last-ditch defending but they were pushing for an early goal.
Soon after, they felt content just holding onto the ball, passing it just for the sake of passing it. The momentum had died down and moments of carelessness began to show. A passing exchange gone wrong between Guillem Jaime and Matheus Pereira led to a chance for CD Alcoyano.
The chance being a long-distance effort which would call Iñaki Peña into action early.
It had taken 23’ minutes but Barça B had finally created some danger. A ball played into the box from Matheus to Ferrán Jutglà saw him have an open shot at the keeper. But his failure to control the ball led to his first touch sending it softly right back to Jose Juan, the opposing keeper.
Just before the end of the half, Barça B would create their best chance of the half which saw Jose Juan forced to make a save. An attempt to score directly off a corner was sent just over the bar.
Barça B never faced any real danger that half, but their lack of creating any themselves was concerning.
A Dramatic Second Half
The second 45’ saw a similar start to the first 45’. A nice link-up between Guillem and Jutglà got things going quickly. A shot that was able to get past Jose Juan, unfortunately, couldn’t get past the post to break the deadlock.
Alcoyano would attempt to respond but as they began to find their footing, Javi Garcia would see a direct red leaving Alcoyano with 10 for the remainder of the match.
Alcoyano had been on the defensive for most of the match up to this point, them losing a red wasn’t going to change that.
There would be moments where Alcoyano would open up, but Barça B would fail to take advantage.
Ez Abde had a good run on a counter and with a numerical advantage, it seemed as though Barça B would finally have a great look on goal. A last-ditch tackle from Fran Miranda prevented such a chance from ever occurring as Ez Abde was on the edge of the opposing box.
A Jandro Orellana cross intended for Peque Polo in the 81’ saw it dangerously deflect off an Alcoyano defender, but Jose Juan was able to prevent an own goal.
A shot from Lucas De Vega at the end of the match called for a great save from Jose Juan to prevent Barça B from taking all three points.
Barça B had their chances, but Jose Juan quickly became the figure of the match in the second half.
Barça B was the better team today and walking away from this match with a draw is disappointing, but it felt uninspiring from their end for large stretches throughout the match.
Two points in two matches see them currently sitting in 8th on the standings but with a match against relegation battling Linares Deportivo next, hopefully, they can get back to their winning ways.
