Hetafe saw off Racing Santander 1:0 in La Liga's second round at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Saturday. E. Unal stepped up to take a late penalty and ground out the win for the hosts, who had been under pressure for much of the evening. The result keeps Hetafe on 3 points in 14th place, while Racing move up to 4 points in ninth.
Racing came closest to breaking the deadlock when Andrés Martín struck the bar from the spot in the 77th minute. The visitors had been dominant in possession and created more chances, but that miss changed everything. By then the crowd at the Coliseum was on edge, and a few minutes later Unal made the difference from 12 yards.
The afternoon was chipped away with substitutions. Hetafe brought on S. Martinez at half-time, then S. Canales and A. Villalibre together in the 64th minute. Racing responded with G. Puerta and Manu in the 88th, while Hetafe added M. Satriano and O. Mangala in stoppage time. The game never really settled into a rhythm.
Hetafe had 43 per cent of the ball and managed only 1 shot on target from 10 attempts, while Racing hit 3 on target from 6 efforts. Expected goals sat at 1.24 for the hosts and 1.31 for the visitors. There was no clean break in the second half — Hetafe could raise the tempo when they needed to, but the delivery was rarely sharp enough to test the keeper.
Three points is a start, and the goal difference now sits at -1 for Hetafe after two losses. Racing carry a +1 difference after their win, draw and defeat. Cup football has its own rules, but this was league football — and the margin between the two sides was thinner than the statistics suggested.
