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Week  27	Athletic Bilbao	1	v	0	Cadiz
Date 12th March 2006	Tiko 90 mins
	Orbaiz
	Yeste
	Amorebieta				Varela

Cadiz went down 0-1 in Bilbao to a last minute penalty against one of their main relegation rivals. Esparrago named the same eleven that beat Espanyol in the Carranza last week, but his plans were changed as early as the 4^th minute when Pavoni had to be replaced by Moran. Bilbao were then hit by two quick bookings to full back Amorebieta, leaving them down to ten men after only 18 minutes. Yeste and Aduriz had half chances in the opening half an hour, but both sets of players seemed to succumb to the pressure of the match and the game turned into a physical battle with little time for nice football to be played. Medina shot over from the edge of the box in the 40^th minute but Cadiz failed to take advantage of their numerical advantage.

Aduriz and Urzaiz looked to give the home side a vital lead when they both went close in the early stages of the second half, but still both teams looked as if they were foremost trying not to lose rather than win the game. As the ten men started to fade Cadiz passed the ball better and enjoyed more possession, albeit some way away from their opponents goal. The visitors nearly snatched a much needed winner in the 80^th minute, but Lafuente saved Fleurquins header from a corner. As the match appeared to be heading towards a 0-0 draw, which would have suited Cadiz more than their northern counterparts, Guerrero’s goalward touch from a corner was handled desperately on the line by Varela. The referee was left with no alternative but to send Varela off, and Tiko made no mistake as he stroked the penalty home deep in injury time. It was a devastating end to the game, and hopefully Cadiz will not be too badly affected psychologically when they host Alaves in another massive six-pointer at the Carranza next Sunday.