MADRID (AP) — Rayo Vallecano left it late to beat 10-man Elche 1-0 and record its first La Liga win for almost a month on Friday.
The Madrid-based club had not picked up three points since beating bottom side Oviedo on March 4 but returned to winning ways thanks to a second-half goal from Randy Nteka.
It was helped by the dismissal of Elche’s Pedro Bigas six minutes before halftime.
The veteran center half was booked midway through the first half and picked up a second yellow for a high challenge and was shown a red card.
Pedro Díaz hit the post in the second half and Elche goalkeeper Matías Dituro made smart saves but Nteka got on the end of a nice cross from Álvaro García with 16 minutes remaining to give the home side the win.
It was the Angola international’s first goal of the season and a vital one for Rayo, which climbed two places into 12th.
Elche remained in 17th spot, one place above the relegation zone.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Woodside Musical Theatre proudly presents Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert — the company’s … Read moreJESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in Concert
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
John Baker said:
CA Is Burning said:
craigwiesner said:
Thanks for this great column which gives me, and I hope others, some inspiration to think about how we spend our most precious gift, time!
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.