Betis Let Sevilla Back Into the Derby

Real Betis had the derby in their hands and the chance to answer Sevilla’s recent command of it. Instead, a two-goal lead vanished on Friday, leaving the sides level at 2-2 and neither able to claim the bragging rights that matter most in this corner of Spain.

The pattern looked set to continue when Juan José Porras put Betis ahead in the 16th minute, his close-range effort rising high beside a post. Seven minutes later Eloi, already making the home side’s bright start count, headed in from close range at mid height, also beside a post. The roar had the sound of a derby turning decisively green and white.

But in a fixture where comfort is rarely granted, Sevilla found their way back. Ángel Román pulled one back in the 57th minute with a close-range effort high through the middle. Then, in the 73rd, Jecki Yehoshua levelled with a shot from outside the box, at mid height and beside a post. The away end had its answer; the home crowd, after two goals of hope, had to watch the lead disappear.

Eloi was the outstanding figure for Betis, scoring once and supplying an assist, while Juan José Porras also found the net. Sevilla’s reply came through Román and Yehoshua, with Jorge Baños making an important contribution after coming on in the 69th minute: he supplied the assist for Román’s goal. The derby did not lack chances or urgency, but its final balance was a draw, not the victory either side wanted to carry into the next meeting.

That matters in the recent history of this rivalry. Sevilla won 1-0 at home on 9 December, and had also beaten Betis 2-1 on 1 December 2062. The meeting between those two victories, at Betis on 27 April 2063, finished goalless. In the day’s old-fashioned language, there was a score to settle; Friday brought a response from Betis, but not the full repayment.

There is a familiar lesson in that. In my day, a derby was never safely won until the last whistle, and these two clubs have again made the point without needing a grand speech. Betis struck first and twice, Sevilla refused to accept the script, and the honours ended shared. For the provinces, and for those who know that local rivalry can weigh as heavily as any trophy, this was no ordinary point apiece. It was another chapter, with the argument still open.