Levante beats Elche and boosts La Liga survival hopes

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — Levante scored in the last minute of stoppage time to beat Elche 3-2 in La Liga on Friday and notch a first home win that boosted its chances of avoiding a quick return to Spain’s second tier.

Levante came into the match as the only club which had not won at home this season and that record did not look like ending after it went behind to an Alvaro Rodríguez goal after 11 minutes.

However, Pablo Martínez levelled five minutes into the second half with a brilliantly executed flick.

Adrián de la Fuente put Levante ahead midway through the second period only for Adam Boayar to equalize for Elche in stoppage time with a stunning overhead kick.

That looked like that until Alan Matturro popped up in the 96th minute to head home from a corner kick and spark delirious scenes at Ciutat de València Stadium.

“Our fans gave us that support, that belief,” Martinez said. “Thanks to them we were able to score the third goal and give them something to celebrate.”

Levante has picked up seven points in the four games since Luís Castro replaced Julián Calero as coach before Christmas. It remained second from bottom but was four points clear of bottom side Oviedo and two behind Alaves.

Elche stayed in eighth.

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