Carril caps win for dominant Depor

By Andy Hall

Precocious striker Iván Carril scored his first goal for RC Deportivo La Coruña to seal a 2-0 first-leg advantage for the Spanish side against Olympique de Marseille at the Riazor.

Rubén opener
After a frustrating evening when a resilient Marseille defence repelled wave after wave of attacks, Rubén Castro finally made the breakthrough with a quarter of the game remaining. The French side almost equalised immediately and Depor coach Joaquín Caparrós responded in unconventional style, introducing Carril who justified the move with four minutes remaining.

Well-drilled defence
The goal was deserved for Depor who had dominated right from the kick-off, and were soon threatening Cédric Carrasso's goal without ever managing a clear opening. The game soon reverted to type – the Galician outfit orchestrating the midfield before finding their forays further upfield easily rebuffed by a well-drilled Marseille defence.

Mendoza menace
Rubén posed the most problems for the French side, firing just wide after the half-hour mark while, for Jean Fernandez's side, Peruvian striker Andrés Mendoza menaced with intent at the opposite end. The second half began just as the first had ended, with the visitors comfortably extinguishing Depor's attacking moves.

Timely strike
But just as anxiety appeared to be creeping into Caparrós's side, they broke the deadlock. Rubén timed his arrival at the far post to blast in Albert Luque’s centre on 67 minutes – his fourth goal of the competition. In-form Mamadou Niang almost equalised within 60 seconds, but was denied by Francisco Molina on a one-on-one.

Mature finish
Carril was duly introduced and with the match seemingly petering out, the 20-year-old coolly rifled in a second to hand Depor a healthy two-goal advantage ahead of the second leg at the Stade Vélodrome in a fortnight.