Carlos Soler’s penalty in the 100th minute saved a point against Getafe, but the threatening ‘black hole’ is unescapable
“There’s one shot and the game’s over,” Javi Gracia said, and Valencia’s manager knew it wasn’t just the game either. Two minutes before the curfew began at last the crowd dispersed, leaving Carlos Soler alone in the silence. All that and it came down to this. For 99 minutes Valencia and Getafe had done battle, another chapter in a modern rivalry, producing two red cards, 13 yellows, 43 fouls, three goals and then this: a penalty to finish. Having been 1-0 up, Valencia were 2-1 down, conceding in the 87th and 94th minutes, the void opening beneath them. But suddenly here in the 100th minute was a way out, for now at least.
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