A first half filled with constant frustrations for Los Che has ended in a 1-1 tie thanks to an incredible goal by Alberto “Tino” Costa at the stroke of halftime for Valencia. The visitors had been having a rough first half in San Sebastien, going down a goal early, but Costa’s strike has set up a completely different dynamic for the second 45 minutes than the opening 45.
Real Sociedad Vs. Valencia: 1-1 HT, David Navarro Is Really Dumb, Tino Costa Is Really Good
Real Sociedad found their opener in the 23rd minute thanks to a well taken penalty kick by Xabi Prieto. David Navarro was the man who gave the penalty away, putting a nice elbow into the grill of La Real’s David Zurutuza, for which he was shown a yellow card. The announcers thought it was a bit soft, but I thought that Navarro put his elbow up by a dude’s face in the penalty area and got what he deserved.
Between the goal and Tino Costa’s equalizer, Valencia did not look sharp, despite some decent attacks. The final ball wasn’t there going forward, their goalkeeper Cesar looked to have sustained an injury, and the players seemed generally frustrated with each other. In the second minute of first half stoppage time, with one dead ball strike, Tino Costa changed that.
Hopefully I can get a video up later for you guys, because the goal simply has to be seen. From the right side of the goal, about 25 yards out, Costa hit a fantastic free kick towards the far post with insane pace and accuracy, stunning Claudio Bravo and whistling into the back of the net. After 45+ minutes of awful luck and yelling at each other, Valencia went into the locker room tied, probably feeling like the three points are theirs for the taking.
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