Valladolid and Betis draw

Real Valladolid and Real Betis shared the spoils in an exciting albeit goalless draw at the Jose Zorilla stadium.

Real Valladolid and Real Betis shared the spoils in an exciting albeit goalless draw at the Jose Zorilla stadium, a result that does little to help either team's precarious situation in the Primera Division. Los Blanquivioletas move one point away from the drop zone but could find themselves back in it on Sunday if Osasuna beat Espanyol, while Betis remain rooted to the bottom of the table, five points behind Valladolid. On the plus side for the Andalusians, Juan Carlos Garrido finally earned his first point since taking over as coach last month. Despite the lack of goals, this was an open game in which both teams showed ambition going forward but were unable to put the ball in the net. Valladolid goalkeeper Diego Marino got his team-mate Marc Valiente out of jail with just four minutes played, reacting well to a header from the defender to avert an own goal. A minute later, Dani Larsson was presented with a misplaced pass by Betis defender Paulao, but the Swede was unable to take advantage of the unexpected opportunity. Javi Chica then made a similar mistake in the area but his fellow defenders prevented Omar Ramos from pouncing on the loose ball. At the other end, Marino did well to deny Joan Verdu and Jorge Molina, the latter failing to bury the best chance of the first half. In the second half Javi Guerra and Ruben Castro each failed to get on the end of crosses that would have surely led to goals, while Betis stopper Guillermo Sara pulled off the save of the game to keep out a looping shot from Carlos Pena which was heading into the far corner. In the final stages of the match each side missed further chances. First Juan Carlos over-hit a shot from the edge of the area following a cut-back from Molina, then in injury time Fausto Rossi sent a cross into the box after dispossessing Salva Sevilla, but Oscar Gonzalez was unable to get on the end of it.