Rayo Vallecano and Levante left Vallecas on Monday night with the same reward, but with vastly differing interpretations of what it means to them. A second half of battle and bite ended with divine intervention from Pathe Ciss.
The home side started off the better, albeit in a slightly strange mumbling Vallecas, as the Rayo ultras did not sign until the 15th minute as a protest against Monday night football. After Ivan Romero’s header hit the side-netting from a set-piece, Rayo began to gather some momentum. Fran Perez curled a cross all the way through the corridor of uncertainty between defence and goalkeeper without result. Four minutes later, Rayo put together their best move of the half, with Jorge de Frutos playing the ball in behind towards Alemao. He dummied the pass, and Pedro Diaz coming onto the ball should have done better with a free shot inside the box.
On the half hour mark, Levante seemed to work out their mismarch though. Coming down the right side, a ball from Iker Losada found Carlos Espi at the back post, but his volleyed effort sailed wide of the top left corner. Five minutes before the break, Espi did hit the back of the net. This time it was from a short set-piece that Losada lofted a ball to the back post from the right, and Oscar Valentin was no match for Espi, who directed his header down and into the net.
Three minutes later, another ball from the right, this time from Garcia, found Espi power another header at goal. Augusto Batalla was equal to this one, but Nobel Mendy was required to put in a brilliant block on Romero from the rebound to keep the deficit at one.
There could be no claim that Levante had dominated or controlled the first period, but the weapon they had turned out to be by far the sharpest on the pitch. Yet just eight minutes into the second period, Rayo’s task took a steep turn. Having already been booked, Mendy gave the ball away in his own half, and in a desperate attempt to make up for it, cut out the Levante pass with his hand. A second yellow was immediately brandished, and Mendy help up a hand in apology as he sprinted down the tunnel.
To their credit, Rayo managed to lift the tempo despite their disadvantage, and it was Levante who spent most of the subsequent 20 minutes defending. The electric feet of Ilias Akhomach off the bench were causing Levante’s defenders problems, and creating enough space to almost get Alemao in with an outside of the boot pass. At the same time, the wearying legs of the Rayo midfield made them ripe for a counter-attack – it felt like the game was delicately balanced. Through Espi and Kareem Tunde, Levante were giving the hosts plenty to think about.
The final 15 minutes, with the points in play, saw things stiffen a little. Rayo were playing most of the match in the Levante half, but wih just one forward, were finding it hard to get the final ball right, with the defence able to rely on plenty of cover. The admirable optimism of the home crowd and the Rayo players proved to be justified though. With a minute remaining, Rayo worked the ball down the left and Jorge de Frutos looked certain to equalise, were it not for a heroic Mat Ryan save. Cat-like to close the distance, when the loose ball was given to Ilias Akhomach, Ryan pounced again to block it over the bar.
There was a second chance though. In the final minute of stoppage time, a last-gasp cross from the left was won by centre-back Florian Lejeune. Appearing from thin air in the eyes of Levante left-back Manu Sanchez, Pathe Ciss ghosted in front of him, a divine intervention. Inside the six-yard box, Ciss controlled with his body, and finished quicker than even Ryan could get out.
Football can be cruel, but when it does reward courage and effort, it feels like a just world is out there. At least that was the sentiment at Vallecas. On the face of it, a 1-1 home draw will not live long in the Rayo memory, and neither is it a positive result, but the story behind will leave Inigo Perez’s side not just six points clear of the drop, but full convinced that with that spirit, no task is too tall.
On the other hand, this match is dangerously in the territory of games that will be recalled by Levante fans if they do end up going down. A golden opportunity to move within a game of safety slips through their fingers – as it is, the deficit is five points. Manager Luis Castro held out his arms in exasperation after the equaliser, defender Alan Matturo grabbed his shorts and screamed to the heavens. In terms of points, survival is still very much possible. But Castro may be wondering how many more body blows his side can recover from.
