Three colors of success in a festive atmosphere and a main character. Manu Nieto scored a hat-trick to give Andorra its first Nacional win on Friday (3-2) against a cautious Cartagena, who could only strike on a few occasions through Ortuño and Iván Descalzo. Eder Sarabia’s men won and enjoyed a great performance from the new attacking trident of Lobete, Nieto and Álex Calvo before 2,522 spectators gathered in the border country.
Andorra started the season at home with earlier tributes to captain Rubén Bover and goalkeeper Nico Ratti for their 150 appearances for the Principality club. When the initial whistle blew, Sarabia’s men, repeating the eleven from their debut, took control of possession and turned their attacks to Julen Lobete’s side, very sharp from left like Pampín. Cartagena’s men chose to drop back, forming a 4-2-3-1 with Ortuño as reference above.
The first chance of danger for the ‘tricolor’ came after half an hour of the match after a closed center from ‘Petxa’ which Manu Nieto was unable to finish comfortably at the far post. The Gipuzkoan was replaced in the first half by José Marsá, who debuted with a note in the axis of the rear. The Pyrenean team, as usual, ventured to touch on several occasions, but the ‘Efesé’ continued to defend in their own field, away from Ratti’s goal.
The second half started with a more upright Andorra, with Manu Nieto more of the star in attack. The Cordovan striker dropped a few meters to receive more balls, and on one of them he took a whiplash from outside the area to make it 1-0. Of course, another good goal from Andorra to start this second year in LaLiga Hypermotion on the right foot. The first goal was not enough for Nieto, who minutes later scored again after taking advantage of a bad rebound in the area and sending the ball into the back of the net in the 64′.
The blow for Andorra came five minutes later. The VAR notified the referee of several possible hands by Marsá in the area and, after reviewing it on the screens, awarded the maximum penalty. Alfredo Ortuño took the lead converting 2-1 which provided an emotional ending.
But there is still a ‘bullet’ in Manu Nieto’s legs. Andorra launched a deadly counter-attack in the 78′ which ended with another penalty to Álex Calvo. The ‘9’ of the tricolor did not miss his appointment and scored the third on debut with a hat-trick in front of his new fans. The locals were able to thrash in the latter part, but it was Cartagena who spiced up the addition with a late goal from Iván Descalzo in a transition.
Data sheet:
FC Andorra: Nico Ratti; ‘Petxa’ (José Marsà, m. 31), Adrià Vilanova, Anderson Arroyo, Diego Pampín; Jandro (Sergi Samper, m. 87), Rubén Bover (Sergio Molina, m. 81), Iván Gil (Álvaro Martín, m. 81); Álex Calvo, Julen Lobete and Manu Nieto (Iker Benito, m. 81).
Cartagena: Marc Martinez; Carlos Sánchez (Jony Álamo, m. 68), Iván Calero (Jansson, m. 81), Kiko Olivas, Arnau Solà, Jairo; Damian Musto, Luis Muñoz, Hector Hevel; Ortuño and Juan Carlos (Ayllón, m. 68).
Goals: 1-0: M.55 Manu Nieto; 2-0: M. 64 Manu Nieto; 2-1: M. 70 Ortuño (penalty); 3-1: M. 77 Manu Nieto (penalty) and 3-2: M. 93 Ayllón.
Referee: Álvaro Moreno Aragón (Madrid committee). He advised ‘Petxa’ (m.19) and Jandro (m. 39), from FC Andorra; and Héctor Hevel (m.13), Ortuño (m.20), Damián Musto (m.77) and Jansson (m.82) from Cartagena.
Incidents: match corresponding to day 2 of the Hypermotion League, played at the Andorra la Vella National Stadium in front of 2,520 spectators.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
