March round-up: Villarreal women end turbulent month with derby defeat

After the international break for women’s football, Villarreal had a March where the postponement became a norm.

Their first match was on March 2 against Real Sociedad in Copa de la Reina. After going in behind at halftime, the Yellows tried to change the scoreboard without much luck.

Thanks to a penalty, they managed to pull it back to 2-1 but ultimately exited the Copa.

That weekend, they had the jornada 23 match against Levante, which was postponed due to COVID-19 cases among the Granotes.

The following weekend, on March 12-13, they had the derby against Valencia postponed again due to COVID-19 - not great news for a team which is aiming to avoid relegation.

The day after Fallas, on March 20, they managed to play their match against Levante.

This time, they returned to the Mini Estadi, but with a new rule. Instead of allowing only socios into the Mini, they would also allow non-socios to attend the game by paying 10€ at the entrance. Bravo. It was about time.

After a hard fought first half - and most of the second - Villarreal were at that place where either you score or you are likely to concede.

Unfortunately, Levante managed to pull off a counterattack to get the first goal. At that point, the Granotes started to settle into the match, and with the Groguets looking to find a way to draw, Levante scored a second, thus ending the match 0-2.

The big highlight was the debut of wonderkid Salma in Primera after a torn ACL last season.

On March 26, they hosted Athletic Club again in the Mini Estadi. A great match with both teams deserving something. A late goal by Estefa managed to secure a draw. To complete this chaotic March, on Wednesday, they played the derby against Valencia.

The game started with a clear chance for Valencia, but was Pancha Lara who would end up breaking the deadlock with a shot past Valencia’s keeper.

Valencia made some changes, and after a golazo tying the score, started to dominate more and more.

Five minutes after the goal, Los Ché completed the comeback, making it 2-1. Villarreal would have some clear chances, but the keeper kept them at bay.

After only one point earned from March, Villarreal are away from relegation by only eight points.

Winning the next match, which is the jornada 26, will be difficult, because it against the excellent Barcelona, who are coming off a win over Real Madrid at the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

There are five matches to be played in all, which amount to 15 points.

Villarreal will play Sporting Huelva on Jornada 27 and Eibar on jornada 28, which could see the Yellows very close to being mathematically spared relegation during April.