Racing Santander 2 : 2 Villarreal - Last-gasp Nilmar earns point
Posted Sunday, February 27, 2011 by PA
Nilmar struck deep into added time to deny Racing Santander a third successive Primera Division victory and secure a valuable 2-2 draw for fourth-placed Villarreal at El Sardinero.
The Brazil striker swept home from close range in the 93rd minute after Mario Gaspar had flicked on from a corner.
It was a disappointing end to the match for Racing, who had dominated for virtually the whole game and looked set to seal a third straight win under new coach Marcelino Garcia Toral.
The Cantabrians went ahead after just three minutes when Pablo Pinillos set up Ariel Nahuelpan for a routine finish in the six-yard box following poor defending from the visitors.
Ariel could have made it two midway through the half, but Diego Lopez produced a fine save to deny the Racing striker and also reacted brilliantly to keep out the forward's header early in the second half.
Ariel also lobbed over the bar with only the Villarreal goalkeeper to beat as Racing continued to dominate.
But the home side paid for their profligacy as Marco Ruben equalised with a header after 66 minutes.
Nevertheless, Racing responded and Giovani dos Santos scored his first goal since moving on loan to the Cantabrian club from Tottenham in January, coolly beating Diego Lopez with a low shot two minutes later.
Giovani then wasted a brilliant chance to make it 3-1 in the closing stages, when he was off target with a lob, and the Mexico forward was left to rue that miss as Nilmar struck with just seconds left on the clock.
The point will be welcome for Villarreal, who had picked up just one in their last three league matches.
The Yellow Submarine stay fourth, just a point behind third-placed Valencia, while Racing are now 12th, five clear of the drop zone with 13 games remaining.
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