Dux Logroño pulled off a dramatic last-minute turn around and claimed a shock draw with Real Madrid Femenino in the 100th minute of their match on Sunday. Despite an early goal by Madrid’s Linda that carried the home team through until the closing moments, Logroño’s Leitner took advantage of a momentary lapse to score the all-important equaliser, securing a golden point for her team and edging them out of the relegation danger zone.
The first match back after a 3-week break, Real Madrid Femenino came into this evening’s match in good stead. Back at home, where they have had a near perfect record save for Barcelona and Atletico’s visits, the women in white were looking to take home the three available points and further consolidate their 2nd place position in the league table.
For Dux Logroño, tonight was set to be an uphill battle. Sitting 14th in the league, the team from La Rioja arrived at the Alfredo di Stefano only one place away from the relegation zone and therefore had every motivation to bring a tough fight to the hosts. With a recent win over Sevilla, they had some momentum coming into tonight’s game and, while it may have taken a while for it to get going, they kept it going right through to the very end.
The home team came blasting out of the blocks with two very close attempts of Dux’s goal in the first two minutes when Linda and Fillipa both mounted serious attacks but their shots both ran just wide. However, only two minutes later, Linda’s earlier efforts were repeated and converted as she received a well-placed cross from Redondo and sent the ball straight past Gascon to take her team to an early lead. The remainder of the first half saw a few more convincing shots on goal from Real Madrid, with both Redondo and Caicedo coming close, but ultimately the scoreboard stayed unchanged.
During the second half, the match continued at a somewhat stifled pace with neither team making much headway on pitch. In the 65th minute, a possible foul by Dux was reviewed by the referee but after deliberation, no penalty was awarded. The last 20 minutes were disrupted by a few nasty clashes. First, in the 73rd, Irune and Logroño’s Gimenez banged heads; a collision that ultimately saw Irune stretchered off into the tunnel. Then in the 90th minute, Rebeca was also escorted off pitch by the medical team after a clash in the box. The two incidents added a total 10 minutes of extra time which proved absolutely critical.
Despite the match being seemingly wrapped up in Real Madrid’s favour, the 100th minute turned the match completely on its head. An incredible long-ball, placed perfectly by Rebeca, found and connected with Leitner whose glancing header found its way past a totally unsuspecting Frohms and into the bottom right corner. It was a spectacular play and one that left both Real Madrid and their fans dumbfounded. And with that last-minute screamer, the game came to a close.
Despite struggling to find an attacking rhythm early on, Dux Logroño still managed to put up a decent defence and make it difficult for Real Madrid to get very far. What could easily have been a landslide turned into a far more even battle even in spite of Linda’s early goal advantage. A rather lacklustre performance from the hosts paired with attacking precision when it mattered form the visitors allowed for a hair-raising close to the match that had the stands erupting with shock and surprise.
After the clash, Real Madrid’s 2nd place position in the table remains unchanged, but they were denied the three point they were hoping for that would have created a safer braking distance to Real Sociedad F in 3rd. Meanwhile, although Dux Logroño still sit 14th in the league, just one spot away from the relegation zone, the crucial point gained from Sunday’s clash help to extend their crash-zone and keep them safe from demotion for now.
Real Madrid F’s next match comes this Sunday down in Andalucía where they will face Sevilla, while Dux Logroño return home to host another Madrileña side in Madrid CFF.
