All to be decided in Gran Canaria

R.Valladolid CF and UD Las Palmas played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their promotion play-off semi-final at the Estadio José Zorrilla. Sergio Araujo put los amarillos ahead just before the ten-minute mark, but a fine Hernán Pérez strike for Valladolid ensured it ended all square.

Both sides served up a hard-fought first half featuring plenty of fighting spirit and intensity. The first to draw blood were Las Palmas. Two minutes after carving out an opening on 7’ courtesy of individual play from Roque Mesa, the Canary Islanders put themselves in the driving seat when they took the lead through a terrific goal from Sergio Araujo, his 23rd of the campaign. As the minutes passed, however, Valladolid – having struggled to contain the visitors in the early stages – steadily settled and, backed by their home crowd, were right back in it after 23’ as Pérez equalised, firing a powerful left-footed effort in from the edge of the area.

The pattern of the proceedings did not change after the break, with intensity proving the chief ingredient in the match. The first to threaten were Valladolid, with an attempt by Roger over the bar and a header off target from Timor. The away side’s response to their hosts’ insistence in attack was not long in coming, but central defender Aythami’s drive went just wide. With the clock moving close to full time, neither team were able to take clear control of the ball, and there was to be no change to the scoreline – setting the tie up for a decisive second leg in Gran Canaria on Saturday at 8pm.