Bottom-placed Levante kicked off their match with Espanyol in the knowledge that they would get few better opportunities to take three points than this one.
Espanyol have won just once away from home this season against Levante’s neighbours Valencia. Equally, they will have seen this as perhaps their best opportunity to add to that record.
Naturally, this led to a tight game in the first half at the Ciutat de Valencia, with Levante enjoying more of the ball. The only clear opportunity to affect the scoreline fell to Levante youngster Marc Pubill, who couldn’t convert from inside the six-yard box after excellent work from Enis Bardhi.
Espanyol were comfortable defending and suspected that the counter may be enough to settle the match. Just five minutes of the second half, that strategy paid off as Javi Puado finished across the Levante goalkeeper into the corner.
Tragically, it would be Pubill again who hit the post in Levante’s next best effort. That was symptomatic of the increased tempo from Levante and Espanyol began to creak. Just minutes after replacing Pubill, Dani Gomez snuck in at the back post to head the equaliser in. Veteran ‘keeper Diego Lopez had gone off injured after a fine double-save from Jorge de Frutos. Now it was the Espanyol youngster Joan Garcia under the microscope, as he misjudged the flight of the cross for Gomez’s equaliser.
That set the final ten minutes up for an onslaught from Levante, which, in the interest of honesty, always lacked the punch necessary to find a winner.
The match ended 1-1, with both teams feeling a degree of annoyance. A point does little for Levante’s survival bid (six points now the deficit), nor Espanyol’s self-esteem.
