Hercules CF 0 : 0 Espanyol - Hercules falter on home soil

Posted Sunday, April 10, 2011 by PA

Hercules missed the chance to move out of the relegation zone as they were held to a goalless home draw by off-form Espanyol in the Primera Division.

The Alicante-based side won their first game under new coach under new coach Miroslav Djukic last weekend with a 3-1 win at Real Sociedad and were looking to make it two in a row against an Espanyol outfit who had lost eight of their last 10 league matches.

Both sides had their chances in an entertaining encounter, but Hercules looked the more likely to claim all three points as they piled on the pressure in the final half an hour.

Royston Drenthe saw his fierce shot deflected just wide and Tiago Gomes drilled a low effort off target, but Paraguay forward Nelson Haedo Valdez came closest of all for the visitors when he headed against the bar after 66 minutes.

Espanyol had earlier seen a Dani Osvaldo strike controversially ruled out for offside.

The Argentina-born forward latched onto a long pass and beat Juan Calatayud with a delicate lob.

Calatayud had done well to deny Osvaldo in the first half and the former Bologna striker almost got on the end of a Luis Garcia cross after that.

But it was the relegation-threatened hosts who created most of the clear-cut chances, with Javier Portillo guilty of two poor misses in the first period.

As it was, Espanyol missed a great opportunity to move back into the top six, while Hercules remain in the drop zone with seven rounds of the championship remaining.