Football likes to make San Mamés suffer. A match on track, a fanbase excited about the Terzic system, and it was twisted by a plot twist, one of those almost forced, like a bad afternoon movie. But that’s how it was. And Athletic ended up paying dearly for their lack of finishing. The plot twist came in the form of a penalty from a poor defensive action just after the start of the second half. Elche, suffering but resolute, took a golden point from San Mamés.
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Athletic started working like clockwork. Everything perfectly measured and their style. The left wing was a torrent of electricity. The build-up with three center-backs left juicy gaps for the offense. And right at the start, in one of those build-ups, Yuri passed it to Nico Williams on the wing. He received, drew a beautiful outside-foot pass into space for Sancet, a back pass to Iñaki Williams, who shot point-blank, but the ball refused to go in by mere centimeters. All at full speed. Applause for that football that is loved in Bilbao.
Elche spent the entire first half saying what is this ball, they didn’t want to know anything about it. And there they stayed locked with a line of five, suffering in the fullness of their sadness against the striking power of an Athletic that couldn’t convert the bite into goals. It seemed a matter of time.
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But second halves have that point of renewal, the one also granted by the new day. And so it was in this football so hostile to the obvious. On the first chance, after a series of defensive inaccuracies by the red-and-whites, the ball ended up in the center of the area at Germán’s feet. Yeray cut low, but late, and the play ended in a penalty perfectly executed by Buonanotte. From then on, Terzic’s tactics, the ones some fans say have brought modernity to Athletic, began to fail. Several minutes of disorder were experienced on the field. So much so that Unai Simón had to make a saving foot stop in the 60th minute. Then a deathly silence fell.
But after the scare, Athletic recovered their vital signs and pressed again. With 12 minutes left, the equalizer came. A stumbling shot from Berenguer that traveled through the small area between the rival defense’s legs and went in almost crying, as if the ball held a grudge against San Mamés. And it didn’t want to go in anymore.
