Valencia (Spain), Jan 13 (IANS) Real Valladolid held host Valencia to 1-1 draw in a La Liga contest at the Mestalla stadium.
Spanish midfielder Daniel Parejo opened the scoring for Valencia at minute 70, while his countryman Ruben Alcaraz put Valladolid on equal terms at minute 81, reports Efe news.
With the tie on Saturday night, Valencia provisionally holds the 10th spot in the standings with 23 points, with a one-point advantage ahead of 14th-place Valladolid.
Valencia dominated the play, maintaining ball possession from the first whistle and with midfielder Carlos Soler and forward Rodrigo creating a couple of scoring chances, but with no success.
With six minutes to go before the end of the first-half, Russian winger Denis Cheryshev provided the best scoring chance for Valencia by setting Soler up for the opener, but Valladolid’s keeper Jordi Masip saved the day.
After the break, Valencia kept up its rhythm to find its rival’s net, with Valladolid sitting back, waiting to make its counterattack.
Valencia players continued to squander decisive opportunities in front of the goal, as has been the case since the beginning of the season, with Rodrigo missing from the 12-yard mark in the 54th minute.
Valencia, however, maintained its drive and desire to score, until Parejo scored ten minutes after the hour-mark with a right-footed shot from the centre off an assist by Soler.
The goal seemed to awaken Valladolid, which successfully equalized the score 11 minutes later, on Alcaraz’s free-kick right-footed shot that went past Valencia’s keeper Neto.
–IANS
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