Valladolid frustrated by Levante

Real Valladolid missed the chance to turn the heat up on their relegation rivals as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Levante.

Real Valladolid missed the chance to turn the heat up on their relegation rivals as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Levante. Third-bottom Valladolid could have moved level with 17th-placed Malaga on 24 points with a victory but, despite battling back from a half-time deficit when Javi Guerra cancelled out Victor Casadesus' opener, they could only only pick up a point. The result means Valladolid could find themselves in the bottom two come Sunday afternoon if Rayo Vallecano can beat Sevilla, and has added even more importance to next week's trip to Malaga. Levante will not be overly pleased with the result either as they could have climbed to within five points of sixth-placed Real Sociedad with a triumph. That looked on the cards when Victor headed in a deep Andreas Ivanschitz's cross to put the visitors in front after 25 minutes with what was their first decent effort of the match. Coming into the match Valladolid coach Juan Ignacio Martinez had stressed the importance of not losing ground on the teams around them, and he must not have minced his words at half-time as his side drew level just seven minutes after the restart. Guerra, who like his coach Martinez was once at Levante, was the scorer as he drilled home his 12th Primera Division goal of the season from the edge of the box. The hosts would have hoped to push on after that and find a winner, but they were unable to create much in the way of decent scoring opportunities and in the end had to settle for a draw. It is perhaps not a huge surprise this match finished in stalemate, though, as Valladolid's record of 10 draws is the most in the division, with Levante second with nine.