It was a freezing day yesterday in Aixovall for the second round match of the Constitution Cup between the Second Division’s four teams (who passed the first round) and the four lowest ranking teams of the First Division.

Ranger’s FC surprised the others when they advanced to the quarterfinals having left CE Principat A out of the competition with a 3-1 win. Sola’s early goal in the 8th minute paled next to Jorge Varela's hat-tricks in the 28th, 55th and 89th minutes. The Ranger’s (currently in second place in the Second Division) will play Matecosa UE Sant Julià in the next quarterfinal round, in the first and second leg.

The rest of the matches had a logical result, as all the teams from the First Division beat the Second Division teams. FC Casa Benfica played UE Extremenya in the first match of the day. Benfica stole Extremenya’s dream of staying in the competition with a close final score of 2-1, even though Benfica’s Alves received a maximum penalty in the 43rd minute of play. Beforehand, however, Arroyo (9’) and Lourenço (19’) had already done the job achieving a 2-0 on the scoreboard and their only star player, Joao Correia, was able to score a goal for the rival team in the 70th minute. Even though UE Extremenya was incisive in Bruno’s goal area in the last few moments, determined to even the score, the other team’s defence and bad luck ended up forcing them out of the competition. FC Casa Benfica will now play Escale UE Santa Coloma in the second round.


The Escaldes derby, one of the most exciting of the day

The two teams from Escaldes played the second match. Inter Club d’Escaldes, a more solid team than Atlètic d’Escaldes, did not let up against their parish rival, and with a clear 6-1 victory they will now play First Division leader, FC Lusitans la Posa, in the quarterfinals.

Inter Club d’Escaldes charged into the match. With two plays where the the team’s forwards overcame the rival’s defence quite easily, Lopes first in the 21st minute and Najim after the 26th minute, the team overcame a defenceless Flaquer. The third goal took place in the 29th minute after a death pass from Martins so that Da Silva could score. One minute later the first play demonstrating true skill took place. Do Cabo ran down the left lane and in the last moment faced the goalkeeper but in the end he sent the ball, almost straight, into the empty net. The play did not end here, in that Inter Club’s defence, Sergio Alves, touched the ball with his hand, and the referee called a foul with a yellow card instead of counting the goal. In the end, Do Cabo’s efforts were fruitless, because his teammate Miguel Angel Garcia missed from the foul line with a shot that was too centered, which Reda, well-placed in the goal area, was able to block without any problem. Reda blocked another cross-shot from Garcia in the 37th minute.

Inter still engaged in the second half

Two minutes into the second half, Telmo Alves brought the score to 4-0 taking advantage of a rebound from a direct shot. It wasn´t a good day for Atlètic’s forward, Garcia, who watched as goalkeeper Reda blocked his shot. Without lowering his arms, JOscar Taboada, was the star of the match’s most beautiful play in the 78th minute, with a scissor kick from inside the area, even though he finally smashed the ball into the crossbar of Inter’s goal area. Four minutes later, Najim scored with a long pass from Martins which resulted in a 5-0. Inter’s number 7 had time to take control of the ball and send a cross-shot to the long post, overcoming Flaquer.  Moraga was able to score Atlètics winning goal in the 87th minute with a complicated play inside the area. Now near the end, Martins scored a well-deserved goal, taking into consideration that he was one of Inter’s most active players. This time he took advantage of a missed shot from Najim and in the second play, he shot the ball into the net, despite hitting the crossbar before entering the net.

Lowest ranking team in the First Division lets off steam against UE Engordany (6-1)

FC Encamp, currently in last place in the First Division, did not give UE Engordany a chance, and with star player Alex Izquierdo, who scored four goals, and Quintela, who scored two, Encamp will play Pidassa FC Santa Cloma in the quarterfinals. Izquierdo had already scored three goals in the first 25 minutes. In the 27th minute, Quintela brought the score to 4-0 and before the break, Varsi scored in the 36th minute but Izquierdo didn´t give Mengual’s team even the smallest chance with a score of 5-1 in the 42nd minute. In the second half, Quintela finished the job in the 68th minute with a definitive 6-1.

Photo: Inter’s Najim Agharbi watches as the ball sneaks by Flaquer on the right side and scores the second goal of the Escaldes derby yesterday in Aixovall.