Euro 2012 Qualifiers – Lithuania 1, Spain 3, Or, Fun in the Sand!

March 30th, 2011 | by: Ade C. | Comments Off

… and by ‘fun’ I mean, ‘hysterical gibbering every time there was a tackle or a Spanish player fell to the ground’.

Mark the quicksand, they say. Don't sink, they say. Be careful and don't step on the three blades of grass we put there yesterday to fool the referee, they say...

But it was all good. Either the prayers of a hundred thousand fans or La Roja’s good luck meant that, in spite of the state of the sandlot where the match was played, there were no injuries to be reported.

Even more importantly, Spain won the match pretty handily. With a team filled with ’subs’ and every player being very careful of where they put their feet lest they succumbed to the quicksand and missed the most exciting part of La Liga, La Roja controlled the match, scored the goals and secured the points. We’re not yet qualified for the 2012 Euros, but we’re nearly there, with a comfortable lead at the top of Group I and a world record of 19 straight wins in qualifier matches (World Cup and Euros).

Our Wise Walrus didn’t go with the rumours that suggested he was going to rest most of his usual suspects, but he (finally!) gave a shake to his usual starting XI and came up with:

—————-Casillas——————
Iraola—–Piqué—-Albiol——Arbeloa
——-J. Martínez—Alonso——-
————-Xavi——Cazorla————–
———–Llorente——Villa————–

Fernando Llorente ‘Il Bello’ finally got a start! Santi Cazorla had his reward for being so in form! We have new full-backs!

It was funny to hear the Real Madrid fans grumble about being the team with most players on the Spain starting XI for an official match, after nearly 5 years since that had happened last.

Our preview consisted mostly of complaints about the state of the pitch, and this was an important factor in the shaping of the match, not only because most players exercised an understandable care when it came to doing things other than standing still, but also because the ball jumped, bounced and gambolled merrily along the pitch, making Spain’s usual tiki-taka a more amusing and less precise sight than it’s usually.

Why is the ball running away from me? Why isn't it going where I sent it?

This is where Our Wise Walrus’ genius, which I had been doubting lately, became apparent again. With players like Cazorla, Xavi or Villa struggling to control the ball and get it to do their bidding, the time came for the usually ignored Masters of the Long Ball to do their thing: Xabi Alonso and Javi Martínez -who shook off the double-pivot and moved forwards quite a bit- both were glad to bypass the complications at ground level and send lovely high passes straight to Llorente, who fought valiantly against the Lithuanian defence to receive the ball and do something with it. Granted, he wasted many chances, but since there was always one or more Lithuanians literally hanging from his back and the ref was mostly blind to this unlawful hugging, you can’t really blame him.

The first goal came from Xavi, who doesn’t score much, but when he does, he scores beautifully.

19 minutes, Villa’s determination to get the ball, dammit, and do something with it, a great shot and a bit of a deflection, and Spain was on top of the scoreline like they were on top of the match.

The first half wasn’t a particularly beautiful thing to watch, Xavi’s goal aside. The crazy leaping about of the ball and the steady pressure of Lithuania’s defenders and midfielders meant that play got interrupted often, passes went awry, and possession was shared amongst throw-ins and fouls. Xabi Alonso had a couple of mid-distance shots (and a very nice FK) that brought to mind the goals he sometimes scored with Liverpool, Llorente struggled manfully against the defenders that stuck, barnacle-like, to him and his too-tight shirt, and Villa ran around like a persistent, angry Scottish Terrier.

The second half started with no changes, but ten minutes in, the Marquis brought in blog-favourite David Silva for Villa. Alas, luck immediately proved its fickleness as Stankevicius took advantage of a series of unfortunate clearances from our defenders and fired a rocket towards Casillas’s goal, which took a little bit of deflection on Piqué’s knee and slammed home.

1-1. Oh noes, was it time for the Headless Chicken Dance? Not quite. La Roja seem to be learning the concept that conceding a goal doesn’t have to mean chaos, destruction and panic. They held on and tried to press with some order; the sandy field and Lithuania’s stubborn defenders held them back, until in another stroke of genius -these things, apparently, come and go- Del Bosque brought in Juan Mata for Cazorla.

Ah, the change that can be brought about by a young, fresh player who wants to make an impression! Mata ran, he passed, he ran some more. He gave an assist so good that Llorente surely would have scored it had Kijanskas not gotten there first!

A bit of luck never comes amiss, even if it’s in the shape of an own goal. It was the 70th minute, the scoreline was 1-2 and the tide had turned Spain’s way. Casillas and our defence had to move a little on occasion, but it was to no one’s surprise when Mata got another reward in the shape of a goal after the referee finally called a foul on Llorente. Also, what a beautiful assist by David Silva!

Min 83: 1-3 and the match ws done for. All that was left was to tip-toe around to avoid any last-minute injuries and wait for the final whistle.

It wasn’t a pretty match, but I am quite content. We played well, adapted to the poor conditions, showed some (some, not much, but some) accuracy in front of goal, and won comfortably. Maybe a better clearance could have prevented Stankevicius goal, but it was a wonderful shot and we can’t begrudge that. The full-backs did alright, although the state of the pitch and the fact that the game was mostly played to the middle didn’t let them show off much.

Young talent, we haz it.

And this is it, folks. La Roja won’t meet again until after club season is over. This blog will do like a walrus and go into hibernation (do walrsuses hibernate? Let’s pretend!) until then, unless something exciting/funny/noteworthy/ridiculous happens and we feel the need to report on it.