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La Coruna's "Deportivo" secured a narrow 1-0 victory at home on Thursday against a strong, but without their key players, "Valencia" team, despite playing with ten men since the 36th minute.
La Coruna 1 - 0 78` [1 - 0] Sergio (pen.)
36` Aldo Duscher was sent off the field ("Deportivo")
Defender Aldo Duscher was sent off the field in the 36th minute for a rough foul against Raul Albiol, and two other "Deportivo" players were shown yellow cards as they almost provoked a fight.
Both teams created only a few chances in the first half, with the most memorable being a long-range shot from Canadian midfielder Juliano De Guzman which was well saved by substitute Valencia goalkeeper Juan Luis Mora, and a try from Uruguay's defender Mario Regueiro to chip the goalkeeper, demanding a great reaction from Jose Molina.
Valencia almost took the lead at the beginning of the second half, but Jose Molina made two great saves to deny M.Regueiro and David Villa.
With a little over ten minutes to go until the end of the match, the referee awarded a dubious penalty to "Valencia" for a foul by Amedeo Carboni on Joan Capdevila in the eleven-meter area. Sergio successfully beat J.L.Mora and allowed "Deportivo" to celebrate the victory by the minimum score.
