Raul Earns Real a Draw in Reconvened Betis Match
A fine first-time strike from Raul earned Real Madrid a valuable 1-1 draw away to Real Betis in a reconvened Spanish first division match Tuesday.
A fine first-time strike from Raul earned Real Madrid a valuable 1-1 draw away to Real Betis in a reconvened Spanish first division match Tuesday.
Floodlight failure had caused the original game on September 14 to be suspended after 43 minutes when Betis was leading 1-0 thanks to a 35th-minute goal from midfielder Capi.
But Real grabbed a valuable draw which lifted it to third in the table after Raul clipped home six minutes into the second half of the renewed game after a Roberto Carlos cross had bobbled free into the area.
Raul's new teammate Ronaldo, who scored a spectacular double in his debut for Real Sunday, was in the starting line-up but missed his one clear scoring chance in a match played at a breathless pace.
In a somewhat bizarre start the reconvened match began with a drop ball in a corner of the pitch as the two sides prepared to play the remaining two minutes of the first half.
Against expectations there was no truce between the two sides. Betis's Brazilian midfielder Marcos Assuncao fired a 28-yard shot just wide of the post and Zinedine Zidane crashed a dipping drive against the bar before the two minutes were up.
The frenetic pace continued when the two teams turned around for the second half and Betis surged forward in attack through their speedy wingers Joaquin and Denilson.
But Real responded in kind and within six minutes of the restart Raul had put the European champion back on level terms.
Ronaldo combined well with his Brazilian international team mate Roberto Carlos on the left before the Real Madrid defender's cross bounced through to Raul, who cracked home with a fine first-time shot.
Real then came within a hair's breadth of snatching the lead when Ronaldo found himself in the clear after he beat the offside trap. However, the Brazilian's delicate lob skimmed the wrong side of the post.
Betis put Real under almost unrelenting pressure after the Raul equalizer but could not work their way past a determined defense marshaled by the impressive Fernando Hierro.