Jimbee Cartagena was paired yesterday with Peñíscola, a Second Division team, for the semifinals of the ‘final four’ of the Copa del Rey, which will take place on April 1 and 2 in Antequera. The semifinal match will be played on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. and, if they reach the final, Duda’s team will play it on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. The other tie matched the very powerful Barcelona and Mallorca Palma, which means that the melon team had some luck in the draw held at the headquarters of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
However, the Copa del Rey is usually the tournament that teams with a slightly smaller budget mark on their calendars to try to win a trophy that, little by little, is gaining prestige. Jimbee has it marked, whose national trophy cabinets are still empty, knowing that in a double confrontation against one of the greats it is more difficult to achieve success than in a single game.
The tournament, in general, tends to be prone to surprises. Not surprisingly, UMA Antequera, in the Second Division, achieved a surprising victory last season after eliminating five teams from the highest category of Spanish futsal and winning, in a vibrant final, Valdepeñas (3-2), a powerful set.
a successful path
After an impeccable season where they have won a total of 20 games and have only conceded a draw, the men from Peñíscola, with 61 points out of 63 possible, have 15 more than their immediate rival, Burela. With 27 left at stake, they have half a promotion in their pocket.
Those led by Duda would face the winner of Barcelona-Palma in the final, on Sunday 2 at 8:00 p.m.
His goalscoring figures are scary: 112 in favor and 38 against, for a differential of +74. Only Burela (2-2) was able to stop the authentic offensive gale of those led by Santi Valladares, who have their greatest gunner in Paniagua (22 goals).
Those from the province of Castellón will soon return to First Division if nothing strange happens and, meanwhile, they have taken the opportunity to become the biggest surprise of a Copa del Rey where neither Jaén, nor Inter, nor ElPozo have reached their final phase .
The people from Castellón have not lost this season and are outstanding leaders in the Second Division, with 61 points out of 63 possible
The Peñiscolanos have already eliminated three First Division teams this season and all of them comfortably. First of all, they beat Club Salou FS 0-6 in the first round, which was just an appetizer for what would come later.
Three teams from the highest category went through the Juan Vizcarro and received important punishments: Betis was surprised (6-2) in the second round of the competition, Osasuna Magna fell by four goals difference (8-4) in the Peñíscola’s ‘bombonera’ in the round of 16 and, in the quarterfinals, those from Valladares beat Antequera (4-0) in a game that was decided in the second half.
“Maximum respect”
Rafa Fernández, goalkeeping coach and assistant coach of Jimbee, did not want to throw the bells on the fly for the draw. «The first objective was to be in the ‘final four’ and we have already arrived. There is no need to be hypocritical: Peñíscola, a priori, was easier than the other rivals, but that is useless. We have to show it on the pitch. There are precedents for Second Division teams that have done very well. They have gone 25 games without losing and have eliminated three First Division teams, “he said.
Regarding the possibility of achieving success, he added: «We know that there is a great desire to play a final, both in the team and in the fans. We are going to do our best to arrive and try to win the Copa del Rey, but now we are thinking of Peñíscola”.
For his part, Santi Valladares made it very clear that they will not go “for a walk” to Antequera and that they will have respect for the melon growers. “Anyone who would have touched would have been a tough nut to crack,” he concluded.
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