Barça seals the pass to the semifinals with a final scare

Barça took the first step to achieve their ninth consecutive Copa del Rey title, after sealing their qualification for the semifinalsin which they will face Frigoríficos del Morrazo, by beating Helvetia Anaitasuna this Friday 35-32, which made the azulgrana suffer more than expected in the final stretch. Final troubles that punished the haste with which Antonio Carlos Ortega’s men seemed to end a clashin which until then the Croatian central defender of the Catalan team, Luka Cindric, author of eleven goals, had reigned at will.

Without Cindric on the track Barcelona saw little by little decrease the income of six goals (26-20) that it had enjoyed at the start of the second half until reaching the last two minutes of the game with a difference of only two goals (33-31) on the scoreboard. But then the figure of the goalkeeper emerged Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, who with a timely stop placated the rebellion of the Navarrese teambefore Cindric, urgently returned to the track, definitively sentenced the clash (34-31) with a minute to go.

A scare that confirmed that it showed that the Catalan team, despite its indisputable superiority, is not this course the implacable roller that has not given the slightest option their domestic rivals in recent campaigns.

An unknown scenario that a brave Helvetia Anaitasua tried to exploit, who did not hesitate to accept the exchange of goals in which those from Antonio Carlos Ortega insisted on converting the start of the match. But if the Ander Izquierdo, Juan del Arco or Antonio Bazán managed to emulate the goalscoring rhythm of the azulgrana (5-5) in the first eight minutes of the game, at the moment in which the Navarrese minimally lowered their percentages of success, Barça distanced itself (9-6) on the scoreboard.

And it is very difficult to keep up with players like the Spanish international winger Aleix Gómez, who He didn’t miss a single one of the six shots he tried in the first half. Above all, when Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas is in the rival goal, who once again confirmed his status as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, after making five saves in the first twelve minutes of play.

But not even like that did the Anaitasuna give up who tried to “look for the tickles” by betting on an attack with seven outfield playerswhich could not have gone any better than Quique Dominguez’s men, who were just one goal away (11-10) barely past the halfway point in the first half.

A comeback that did not prevent the Navarrese team from returning to the more orthodox six for six once they had managed to get back on the scoreboard. However, in order to try to surprise the almighty Barça team, you have to risk, risk and risk.as Helvetia Anaitasuna learned in the following minutes, in which Barcelona escaped again (17-12) on the scoreboard thanks to an inspired Luka Cindric. The Croatian central defender was not only infallible against the rival goal in the final stretch of the first halfbut signed some of the most spectacular actions of the day.

Goals and more goals that allowed Barcelona to reach the break with an income of four goals (19-15), whichIt didn’t seem to placate the voracity of the Balkan, who continued hitting the rival goal over and over again at the start of the second half. As reflected by the clear 26-20 that appeared on the scoreboard ten minutes after the restart, after three new goals from Luka Cindric, who closed the contest with eleven goals, after not missing a single shot.

A result that once again led the Navarrese coach Quique Domínguez to attack with seven players, although without the same results as in the first half, since Anaitasuna barely managed to cut their deficit (29-24) in the following minutes. Difference with which Barcelona seemed to consider the match resolved with Cindric leaving the court, who starred in one of his best matches of the season.

A hasty decision that was about to cost the Catalan team a scare that they saw as if without the Croatian on the track Anaitasuna was just two goals away (33-31) with two minutes to go. Final troubles that were in charge of resolving for Barcelona a successful as always Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas and a Cindric, who after urgently returning to the track, put the Barça victory on track (34-31) with a goal just over sixty seconds to the completion.