Rayo Vallecano hold Getafe to 1-1 draw

Rayo Vallecano’s Jozabed Sanchez scored at both ends as they played out a 1-1 draw at Getafe on Monday. Though both clubs are hovering perilously close to the drop zone, neither of the suburban Madrid sides showed any ambition on a frigid evening at the Alfonso Perez Coliseum on Monday.

Jozabed Sanchez Ruiz (left) of Rayo Vallecano scored at both ends. File picture.

Rayo Vallecano’s Jozabed Sanchez scored at both ends as they played out a 1-1 draw at Getafe on Monday.

Though both clubs are hovering perilously close to the drop zone, neither of the suburban Madrid sides showed any ambition on a frigid evening at the Alfonso Perez Coliseum on Monday.

Rayo, the winner in seven of their eight La Liga matches against Getafe, dominated possession for the first 15 minutes and enjoyed an early scoring chance, but home side goalkeeper Vicente Guaita stopped Roberto Trashorras’ strike in the sixth minute.

The initiative then passed to Getafe.

Victor Ramirez’s long-distance volley went just wide of the Rayo net, while visiting keeper Juan Carlos turned aside a free-kick from Alvaro Vazquez and Carlos Vigaray misfired after making an impressive charge down the right side.

Getafe, to the relief of its fans, picked up the pace in the second half, setting the stage for the first of Jozabed’s two goals.

The Rayo attacker ended up knocking Victor Rodriguez’s cross into his own net in the 58th minute.

Stunned into action, the visitors began pressing and the effort paid off, as Getafe defender Carlos Vigaray’s carelessly hand-balled to concede a penalty.

While Guaita stopped the kick from Trashorras, Jozabed was there to pounce on the rebound and redeem his earlier mistake with the equaliser in the 72nd minute.

The outcome leaves Rayo Vallecano 13th in the table, with 14 points from 12 matches. Getafe, meanwhile, sit in 16th with 11 points.