Betis lose further ground in Valladolid stalemate

Real Betis' winless run stretched to four games as they lost a little more ground on the European race in a goalless draw at home with Valladolid. Wasteful shooting was to blame as Betis carved out a succession of chances but rarely tested Daniel Hernandez in the Valladolid goal. An early bath for Antonio Rukavina in the 75th minute should have aided their cause but the frustration mounted and instead the numbers ended even with Antonio Amaya sent off in injury time. Betis made much of the early running but Jorge Molina headed a chance wide before Dorlan Pabon's long-range effort missed the target. At the other end, Henrique Sereno could not get his header on goal from a corner. Molina missed with another shot from distance and it was not until the 19th minute that Hernandez was called on to make a save, comfortably dealing with Pabon's 30-yard shot. He made a better save to keep out Benat Etxebarria's attempted lob, back-pedalling to push it over the bar. However, Betis were not doing enough to worry the goalkeeper, with efforts from Junior Paulao, Joel Campbell and Molina all missing the target before half-time. That pattern continued in the second period with Molina spraying a shot left of the upright before Junior headed wide from a corner. Hernandez palmed Molina's close-range effort over from a corner just after the hour mark, and moments later Campbell failed to make proper contact when well placed. Jose Nono then blazed over as the wasted chances mounted. They were given what should have been a helping hand in the 75th minute when Rukavina fouled Juan Carlos Perez Lopez to earn a second yellow card, but failed to take advantage. Molina somehow fired over from close range before Etxebarria mis-hit a shot. San Miguel had been a virtual spectator in the Betis goal but had to be alert to keep out Javi Guerra's shot in the 88th minute. Time was running out but there were still chances for Betis, Hernandez turning Campbell's shot around the post before Molina saw a header cleared off the line by Jesus Rueda. The breakthrough never came and Amaya took out his frustration on Mikel Balenziaga in injury time, earning a second yellow card to even the numbers. From FIFA