Villarreal held by third tier minnows
Reuters - Thursday 29 October 2009, 23:24
MADRID - Villarreal's miserable season
continued when they scraped a 1-1 draw at 10-man third-tier side
Puertollano thanks to a second-half a goal from Robert Pires in
their King's Cup last 32, first-leg match on Thursday.
Ernesto Valverde's struggling team, who are mired in the la
Liga relegation zone with only six points from eight matches,
fell behind to an Alvaro Valdes goal in the 14th minute.
Puertollano defender Jorge Juan Pelegrina was shown a
straight red card just after half-time before Villarreal's French
midfielder Pires celebrated his 36th birthday an equaliser with
25 minutes remaining.
Valverde used all three substitutes and Villarreal had to
play the final few minutes with nine men after Spain midfielder
Marcos Senna was forced off with an injury and striker Nilmar
was red carded for serious foul play in the 76th minute.
"We knew it was going to be a difficult match," Valverde
told a news conference. "They came out very motivated, closed us
down and were helped by the poor state of the pitch," he added.
"We converted the most difficult chance of the many we
created and the good thing is that we still have a very good
chance of progressing."
In other matches on Thursday, la Liga side Racing Santander
were upset 1-0 at second-division Salamanca and Real Valladolid
beat visiting Real Mallorca 2-1 in an all la Liga clash.
The return legs are in two weeks' time.