Soccer: Valencia have reason to smile again

Valencia coach Rafael Benitez just about managed to smile again when his outfit ended a miserable week with a 2-1 win over Osasuna.

In midweek, Valencia exited the UEFA Cup with a narrow defeat to Inter Milan at the Mestalla Stadium.

But now victory over Osasuna has kept them firmly in the hunt for the Spanish title.

Two minutes into injury time, Benitez watched as defender Miroslav Djukic denied Osasuna a shock away victory when he cleared a Pipa Gancedo shot off the line.

Ruben Baraja immediately raced up to the other end and scored Valencia’s winner.

The 2-1 victory kept Valencia level with Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Liga.

‘‘The most important thing is the victory after what has been a disappointing week for us, ‘‘ said Benitez in Las Provincias.

’’We have won this game after a lot of suffering.

‘‘We had chances to have scored a lot of goals, but at the end we could also have lost.

‘‘We got over some adverse circumstances, such as missing a penalty and losing (Mauricio) Pellegrino and we got over them.

‘‘This win will strengthen our morale for the run-in.’’

The last-minute defeat leaves Osasuna in a perilous position fourth from bottom in the table after bravely battling the odds with 10 men for over an hour following Josetxo’s 27th-minute sending off.

‘‘For 10 seconds, I thought we were going to win, but in the end we lost,’’ said coach Miguel Angel Lotina.

‘‘When you lose like that, it is counterproductive. When you lose 4-0 it is different, but losing in the last minute like that can really affect your morale.’’