Villarreal boss Marcelino said he was grateful for Javier Aquino’s last-gasp goal in the 2-2 Copa del Rey draw with Elche at El Madrigal.
The Mexican midfielder popped up with a 94th minute equaliser for the Yellow Submarine, and Marcelino believes it keeps his team in the tie before they travel to the Martinez Valero for the second leg.
“Aquino’s goal allows us to have more options for the return. It was obvious we made a lot of chances but were unable to kill them off,” he told a Press conference.
“After 65 minutes we were losing 2-1 and I wasn’t happy as we had created plenty of opportunities to have won the game.
“However, we made two very serious errors. If we allow their players to be unmarked in the area then it’s only normal they take advantage of it and score.”
Two quick-fire second-half goals Sergio Pelegrin and Yiadom Boakye cancelled out Giovani’s 21st minute opener for Villarreal, who Marcelino claimed had been the better side up to that point.
“Everything changed within four minutes and it could have been a lot worse. Elche capitalised on our mistakes but I’m certain that up until the hour mark we had been far superior,” he maintained.
