A victory and a party to round off the year of the 75th Anniversary in the best possible way
Goals from Keko Gontán and Borja Bastón win the game for Eibar, who finish the year with 24 points
SD Eibar finished the year of the club’s 75th anniversary with an important 2-0 victory over Sporting Gijón followed by a firework display and light show which provided the climax to a year of celebrations.
Today’s match was of special importance for Mendilibar’s players, who had taken only two points from the last five games.
Sporting set out to play a game based on containment, with very compact lines, not allowing any gaps in the defence or giving away any chances, and so the minutes passed with virtually no goal opportunities for the local team, who held the initiative throughout the game.
The play of Saúl Berjón and Keko Gontán on the wings and the movement of Simone Verdi were the highlights in attack but Eibar struggled to create danger in the Sporting area.
But the Gunsmiths kept their calm and continued waiting for their opportunity, ready to take advantage of any error by their opponent or some moment of creativity of their own.
The reward came in minute 55. A good run by Verdi on the left ended with a pass to Keko who, from inside the area, scored his first goal in the Liga BBVA with a low, angled shot.
And once the floodgates had opened, everything went smoothly for Eibar. Only six minutes after Eibar had gone 1-0 ahead, Borja Bastón, losing his marker, received an assist from Saúl and slotted it past Cuéllar.
Sporting fought hard, trying everything to get back into the game, but Eibar remained solid at the back and refused to allow the victory to be taken away from them.
After the game, the joy of victory was heightened by the celebratory firework display, which provided the finale to the perfect party for seeing out 2015. Happy New Year to everyone in the Gunsmiths’ family!!!