The great performance of goalkeeper Edgar Badía, especially in the first half, allowed Elche this Friday to add a point against a Celta who went from less to more and who improved past performances, although not enough to break his bad streak and add the three points.
The Galician team knew how to overcome the early goal of Elche but was met with the great performance of the Catalan goal, who avoided several sung goals and ended the match injured. In a rough and intense end of the game, the local team also had their option to achieve victory.
The game could not have started in a worse way for Celta, who after two minutes saw how the referee, at the request of the VAR, punished Hugo Mallo’s hands with a penalty after Pere Milla’s header in what was the first local approach to the Galician area.
1
Elche
Edgar Badía; Barragán, Gonzalo Verdú, Diego González (Josema, min. 60); Josan, Marcone, Mfulu (Raúl Guti, min. 60), Fidel (Sánchez Miño, min. 38), Tete Morente; Pere Milla (Rigoni, min. 60) (Nino, min. 76) and Lucas Boyé.
1
Celtic
Rubén Blanco; Hugo Mallo, Murillo, Aidoo, Olaza, Renato Tapia (Fran Beltrán, min. 65), Brais Méndez (Gabri Veiga, min. 83), Denis Suárez, Santi Mina (Miguel Rodríguez, min. 76), Nolito and Aspas.
- GOALS:
1-0, min. 3: Fidel, de penalti. 1-1, min. 41: Santi Mina.
- REFEREE:
From Burgos Bengoetxea (Basque Committee). He showed a yellow card to Denis Suárez, Oloza, Aspas and Miguel Rodríguez for Celta, and to Diego González, Barragán and Lucas Boyé for Elche. He expelled Rubén Martínez, a member of Celta’s coaching staff, in minute 3.
- INCIDENTS:
Match corresponding to the ninth day of the Santander League played behind closed doors at the Martínez Valero stadium.
Fidel was in charge of scoring the maximum penalty and Celta, highly demanded by their delicate qualifying situation, accused the blow and was about to conceal a second goal after a set piece action that Barragán finished off high.
Little by little the Galician team began to regain the pulse of Iago Aspas’ hand, who infiltrated between the Elche lines to channel the attack game.
The Celta striker left Brais Méndez alone against Badía, but the Catalan goalkeeper saved the tie with his foot. Again, although now a pass from Denis Suárez, the Elche goalkeeper denied a goal almost sung to Brais, who was stopped by a low shot.
Elche, who lost Fidel through injury within half an hour, lived in attack from the counterattacks against a nervous and insecure Celta in defense. In one of them, Lucas Boyé was on the verge of scoring again, but the thread shot came off the post.
The insistence of Celta de Vigo finally found its prize in the last minutes. A drop by Aspas allowed Santi Mina to launch a cross shot that Badía could not reach.
After passing through the changing rooms, the match was equalized, although it was Celta, again through Iago Aspas, who after a brilliant individual action was about to score, but his cross shot went wide.
Santi Mina and Aspas once again called a goal against an Elche surpassed in the medullary, which caused the reaction of Jorge Almirón, who tried to change the dynamics of the match with a triple change at 60 minutes.
The team from Elche managed to balance the game, although Celta continued closer to the goal, as in an action in which Brais Méndez claimed a penalty after a Marcone tackle.
The match entered a phase of continuous interruptions, injuries and fouls, although Celta still found football to generate a chance through Aspas, who, after a bad start from Badía, touched the second goal.
Although closer was Morente, who after a long attack play by the Elche team finished brushing the post. Also Josema, in the discount, was about to give the victory to his team with Celta turned in attack.
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