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Kgatlana rescues Eibar with maiden Spanish Iberdrola goal against Levante
The South African forward broke her Eibar duck at Ciudad Deportiva de Bunol to ensure her side maintained their unbeaten start
Banyana Banyana star Thembi Kgatlana provided an assist and opened her Spanish Primera Iberdrola account as Minsk retained their unbeaten start to the season after a 2-2 draw against Levante on Saturday.
Kgatlana joined the Spanish outfit from Portuguese side SL Benfica this summer and enjoyed a winning start on her competitive debut as a substitute in her side in the recent 1-0 victory over Real Betis.
Despite her fine display in their last outing, coach Iker Dorronsoro handed the South Africa international her second appearance as a substitute and she made the best of her presence on the pitch.
However, Nigeria's Charity Adule and Equatorial Guinea's Ruth Álvarez earned their places in the starting XI for the second consecutive match of the season for Eibar.
The visitors made a false start to the encounter as Aldana Cometti set up Esther Gonzalez to hand the hosts, who were aiming for back-to-back wins, the opening goal after just 15 minutes of action.
Levante continued from where they left off in the second half when Claudia Zornoza played through Gonzalez for her brace and her side's second of the match in the 64th minute.
Desperate for a fightback, Dorronsoro brought on Kgaltana five minutes later and the South African won a penalty for the visitors which Maria Llompart made no mistake to convert in the 74th minute.
Eibar continued their pouring of attacks and were rewarded on the brink of regulation time when substitute Arola Aparicio sent through a pass from the right for Kgatlana's late goal to force a stalemate.
Kgatlana has now scored her first competitive goal in the colours of Eibar on her second appearance and has become the first African to score in the Spanish Primera Iberdrola this season.
Besides Kgatlana, Adule was also in action for 81 minutes before she was taken off for Kuki, while Alvarez lasted the duration for Eibar.
The result saw Eibar move to third on the log with four points after two games and they will continue their campaign at home against Madrid on October 17.
