League

CIBELES STADIUM
Spectators: 7965 (Terracing: 5975, Seating: 1832, VIP seats: 158) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Benigno Marques started the match with the kick off. In the 4th minute, one of Racing Madrid:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Racing Madrid. The referee gave Deportivo La Korumha a penalty, 6 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Atakan Nuralp, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Racing Madrid's Lluis Puig. 0-1. Raúl Abellan fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 10th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Lluis Puig having to interfere. Aurelian Mergea made a fantastic save in the 22nd minute, when Aloisio Valerón sent off a good shot on target. In the 24th minute, Benigno Marques made a precise shot to the right of Aurelian Mergea. Deportivo La Korumha's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-1. After having played for 30 minutes, Xelo Pedraza managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Deportivo La Korumha's supporters crossed their fingers, but Xelo Pedraza was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Raúl Abellan in the 36th minute of play forced Racing Madrid's goalkeeper Lluis Puig to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a rather tough play, Deportivo La Korumha's Tommy Ahlgren got a free kick in the 40th minute. After having played for 41 minutes, Aloisio Valerón managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Racing Madrid's supporters crossed their fingers, but Aloisio Valerón was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Roque Crespo stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Iván Vagrande in the 51st minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Lluis Puig prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Racing Madrid's Lluis Puig played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Purnomo Pornsaptaveekoon in the 57th minute of play. 66 minutes into the match, Delmiro Jimenez had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Aurelian Mergea. Deportivo La Korumha's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Delmiro Jimenez was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. An unexpectedly hard shot by Iván Vagrande in the 74th minute of play forced Racing Madrid's goalkeeper Lluis Puig to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 75th minute, Delmiro Jimenez made a precise shot to the right of Aurelian Mergea. Deportivo La Korumha's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 3-1. The supporters of Deportivo La Korumha booed when Racing Madrid was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 78 match minutes in a wonderful position. Benigno Marques didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 81 played minutes Racing Madrid got a freekick which was hit by Delmiro Jimenez. With a little luck, Racing Madrid's Lluis Puig got control of the ball when Roque Crespo tried to sneak it across the goal line. Iván Vagrande fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 87th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Lluis Puig having to interfere. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Racing Madrid fans cheered their team off the field, for while Deportivo La Korumha had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.