Getafe strike late for point

Diego Castro's penalty deep into stoppage time salvaged a point for Getafe from a 1-1 draw against Osasuna.

Diego Castro's penalty deep into stoppage time salvaged a point for Getafe against Osasuna in a game desperately lacking in quality at the Alfonso Perez Coliseum. Both sides had one great opportunity to take the lead in the first half but neither Nino nor Alvaro Vazquez could convert when clean through on goal, and the game only came to life after Emiliano Armenteros had been sent off for the visitors 12 minutes from time for a wild lunge on Juan Valera. Despite losing a man, Jose Mendilibar's men seemed set for all three points when Kike Sola weaved a way through the Getafe defence to slot home six minutes from time. However, Osasuna were cruelly denied a second away win of the campaign in the final minute of added time as Oier was harshly adjudged to have handled inside the area and Castro stroked home his fourth goal of the season. Getafe could have moved into the top four for a few hours at least had they managed to win, but never looked like a side seriously capable of challenging for a European place come the end of the season as Osasuna's disciplined defending and counter-attacking saw them have the majority of the openings. Nino was first to threaten on 19 minutes when he was played in by Sola but he placed his shot too close to Miguel Angel Moya, who made a comfortable save. Vazquez had an even better chance to open the scoring at the other end seconds before half-time as he rounded Andres Fernandez, but could not get the purchase needed to beat Alejandro Arribas, who cleared off the line before Pedro Leon blasted the rebound over. Moya was twice called into action early in the second period as he did brilliantly to turn a driven effort from Nino behind for a corner, before rushing from his line to clear before Sola could latch on to David Abraham's short backpass. It appeared Getafe had been handed the momentum needed to go on and take all three points when Armenteros needlessly dived in on Valera deep inside the Getafe half and was rightfully shown a straight red card. But within minutes it was the visitors who had gone ahead as Sola turned two defenders on the edge of the area before coolly slotting past Moya into the far corner. Osasuna then saw out the final six minutes relatively comfortably until Valera's driven cross seemed to hit Oier on the back as he slid in to try and block. However, referee Fernando Teixeira Vitienes, with the help of his assistant referee, pointed to the spot and Castro sent Andres the wrong way to claim a barely deserved point.