Las Palmas throws away a 2 nil lead and leave it all to do in the return leg
La UD Las Palmas will need to see off their opponents in the last 32 of the King’s Cup in the return leg at the Estadio Gran Canaria on 20th December. Setién’s team ended up drawing a game that they were leading 0-2 with goals by Asdrúbal y Hernán.
Las Palmas were quickly off to a good start. SD Huesca attempted to play a containing game and held firm in the first few minutes with a good deal of discipline, and not getting desperate to put Raúl Lizoain under any real pressure. This led to the move which ended up being a penalty on Asdrúbal, that the striker himself converted to make it 0-1 (min. 11).
UD Las Palmas came into this game with a lot of new faces for this away leg in the last 32 of the King’s Cup. The starting line-up featured Hernán Santana, back from injury, who played the ball through to Asdrúbal that led to the penalty decision. Tyronne was also back in the team he had played against seasons previously.
Huesca had their best chance to equalize from a dead ball situation, with a header from Urko Vera that brushed past the yellows’ right hand post (min. 28). Las Palmas were better on the ball and looked to put the game beyond their opponents’ reach on the counter. Nabil El Zhar had a point blank shot on the half hour mark that was turned away by the Aragon team’s defence. Half time arrived with Las Palmas with their noses in front, 0-1.
In the second half, Quique Setién tried to protect his left flank with his mind on next Sunday’s league encounter against Deportivo Alavés, substituting Hélder Lópes with Pedro Bigas. In the 52nd minute, Hernán, with the help of a defender, gave his team breathing space with a goal to make it 0-2.
In the 56th minute there was great news for the visitors with the reappearance of Javi Castellano, who had been sidelined for a whole year through injury. The Gran Canarian player hadn’t played a match since 22nd August 2015 in last season’s league opener with Atlético de Madrid in the Estadio Vicente Calderón.
Huesca got back into the game with a goal by Camacho in the 65th minute. The home player beat Raúl Lizoain with a header across the goal. Five minutes later in another set piece move, Huesca got their equalizer with a goal by Juan Aguilera (min. 70) to make it 2-2. The last quarter of an hour saw the game lose its shape, which Huesca made the most of with counter attacks that made them think they could produce a miracle, when a shot came back off the post in the 82nd minute.
The end of the game left a bad taste in the mouth for the yellows, as they were overrun in the last few minutes by the home team. This draw means UD Las Palmas are forced to resolve the tie back in Gran Canaria on 20th December, which will be the last game of 2016.
