Sevilla snatch draw from jaws of defeat against frustrated Elche

Elche 2-2 Sevilla

Sevilla managed to snatch a point from the Martinez Valero on Monday night, which saved Matias Almeyda from talk of crisis for at least another week in the Andalusian capital. For their part, Elche were left confounded by their inability to close the game out.

Los Nervionenses were coming off a run of four straight defeats, and had not scored in over a month, and felt unfortunate to be beaten by Celta Vigo last Monday. Again they were lamenting their luck after a good start, when Aleix Febas took advantage of space on the break, squeezing the ball into the corner from the edge of the box.

Both sides scrapped for the ball in midfield, feeling there was space on the break. Isaac Romero supplied Djibril Sow with what looked like the equaliser just before half-time, but Inaki Pena anticipated brilliantly to palm over.

Elche see two points slip away to spirited Sevilla

Image via Pablo Miranzo / EFE

In the second half, Elche looked the part as the winning side, and Alvaro Rodriguez was dumbfounded to find that Odysseas Vlachodimos had tipped his effort over from close range. German Valera caught the ball sweetly through the throng of bodies after a cleared cross, finishing from the edge of the box to give Los Ilicitanos a commanding lead.

The game changed with the introduction of Akor Adams, back from international duty with Nigeria, who provided a partner up front for Romero. Elche struggled to take the sting out the game, feeling there were more goals in it for them, and Romero’s flicked effort at the near post came back off the inside of the far one – but Adams was fastest to it, tapping home with 15 minutes to go.

Cometh the final minute of the match, Adams came again to break Elche hearts. A controversial penalty call found Rodriguez guilty of a handball, and gave Sevilla a spot-kick in stoppage time. Adams’ finish into the top corner flew just past Pena’s correct guess.

The draw kept the gap between the two sides at just three points, but six places separate Elche in 8th, and Sevilla in 14th. It does give Sevilla a two-point cushion to the drop zone, but perhaps more importantly provided a morale boost after a difficult run. They travel to San Mames next, while Elche make a shorter trip to Levante.