LANZAROTE   1   UD GUÍA   1

The Rojillos surrender the lead with only three minutes remaining after playing for more than an hour with only ten men.

Lanzarote went into this match beaming with confidence after two straight wins taking them off the bottom of the table but still five points from safety.

The opening stages were a little bit messy with the home side possibly a bit too eager and rushing their final pass.

As the game progressed Lanzarote began to look the more dominant but in the 27^th minute a red card for defender Mateus changed the whole perspective of the match.

Following a foul by Keita, Mateus ran over to the injured player while he was on the floor and screamed something at him which I doubt was “How are you”? The ref who had already handed out plenty of cards had little choice but to show the Brazilian his second yellow card and the Rojillos were left to play for more than an hour on a very hot day with just ten men.

As Lanzarote had to reorganise they looked a little frail for ten minutes but were still comfortable in defence.

In the 41^st minute a long free kick from Ayoze Pérez was planted into the 18 yard box. The Gran Canarian side made the childlike error of letting the ball bounce in the danger zone and from six yards Josua gave the keeper no chance heading the ball into the roof of the net to give his side a 1-0 halftime lead.

The visitors came out more pumped for the second half and were enjoying much more possession with the Rojillos keen to hit their opponents on the break.

In the 52^nd minute a super long ball from Rodrigo down the middle was latched on to by the lively Giovanni. Last week’s hat trick hero turned his defender inside out but after all that great work, he screwed his shot wide of the right hand post when scoring looked a dead cert.

12 minutes later and some more good work from Giovanni saw him set up Keita. From 12 yards and with just the keeper in front of him the midfielder saw his strike go beyond the far post, where with hindsight he would have chosen to square the ball for his tireless Captain Rosmen to stroke home into an empty net and deflate the opposition.

On so many of these occasions when you fail to score that second goal after having great opportunities then the inevitable happens.

The home side were clearly tiring after playing for an hour with 10 men in this early evening heat and the second from bottom side could sniff a point.

In the 87^th minute a cross from the by-line was met with a ferocious header from six yards by substitute Melo and the visitors were level at one apiece.

Both sides went on to try and win the match but it was the Rojillos who had the better chances in the latter stages but could not force the ball home.

Lanzarote will be upset that they couldn’t have held on but since the restart of the football they will be content with seven points out of a possible nine. From bottom of the table they are now in the last relegation position but still four points adrift of safety though with two games in hand.

On Saturday the Rojillos fly to Gran Canaria to face CF Unión Viera at 11am. The Las Palmas side are only two positions and five points above Lanzarote having played two games more, so a result here is as important as any match this season to date.

          GOALS

•     1-0min 41 Josua

          1-1 min 87 Melo