Elche 2 - 2 Espanyol: Espanyol denied late on in Alicante

Elche CF remained unbeaten at home with an entertaining 2-2 draw against newly-promoted Espanyol at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.

In the search of their first away win of the La Liga (LL) campaign, newly-promoted Espanyol looked the more threatening, registering three shots in the first five minutes, as Raúl de Tomás and Adria Pedrosa set one's sights on Kiko Casilla’s goal. 

Against the run of play, Elche thought they had taken the lead after 10 minutes when Fidel magnificently lofted the ball over the onrushing Diego López, but referee Jorge Figueroa Vázquez disallowed the goal for an offside in the build-up.

Looking to preserve their immaculate record at home in LL this season, the hosts opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when Lucas Boyé forced David López into a cataclysmic mistake, exploiting the Espanyol’s captain’s overeagerness on the ball, before clinically firing past a helpless López. Fran Escribá’s side valiantly looked for a way into the match before HT but were restricted to only one shot on target by a well-marshalled Elche defence.

Vicente Moreno’s decision to bring Manu Morlanes on at HT proved a tactical masterclass when the substitute equalised with a spectacular long-range effort in the 51st minute. Raúl de De Tomás then turned the game on its head, a minute later, arriving at the back post to clinically volley Pedrosa’s alluring cross past Casilla, to leave the home supporters astounded. 

López did brilliantly to deny Boyé from close-range in the 64th minute as the hosts looked for a way back into the game. Elche were level in the 84th minute when Darío Benedetto took advantage of bedlam in the Espanyol penalty area to hammer the ball past López.

A share of the spoils in Alicante lessened the constraint on Escribá's position as Elche moved four points clear of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Espanyol remain winless in LL this season, as Vicente Moreno extended his unbeaten managerial record against Elche to seven matches.