Armeros secure fine win over Deportivo, who dominated for spells and could have taken a point
Eibar produced a clinical display to overcome Deportivo for the first time in La Liga
Eibar claimed a fine win at Ipurua as they ran out 3-1 winners over a Deportivo La Coruña side that put in a good performance, in which they dominated for spells and had the chances to have rescued a point, most notably at the beginning of the second period.
Prior to kick-off, Ipurua was a hotbed of emotions, with the returning Gaizka Garitano - the man who guided Eibar from Segunda B to Primera - receiving tributes, firstly in the VIP Lounge from the board of directors and club staff and then from the home faithful, who gave the former boss a rapturous welcome.
José Luis Mendilibar's side came flying out of the traps and with just three minutes on the clock, Sergi Enrich found Adrián who produced a stunning chipped effort which crept just over Przemysław Tytoń and into the net.
It wasn't long before Eibar had doubled their advantage, with the same pair once again involved. This time Adrián turned provider as he kept himself onside, before slipping the ball to Enrich, who unleashed a low drive into the far corner. These two early goals tipped the game firmly in the hosts' favour.
However, Garitano's side hit back almost immediately to halve the deficit on 18 minutes when Carles Gil's cross from the right was nodded home by Emre Çolak.
Following that goal, the game became an end-to-end affair as the two sides sought to get the ball down and control the tempo, with both teams looking to make inroads into the opposition's box. So far this game had served up three goals and some sublime attacking football in what was proving to be a thrilling spectacle.
In the second half, the Galicians utterly dominated proceedings, particularly in the opening 20 minutes. The majority of the play was in the Eibar half, as Dépor called the shots whilst the Armeros defended with all of their might.
The visitors' pressure saw Yoel Rodríguez called into action, with the Eibar custodian pulling off several noteworthy saves to prevent the A Coruña outfit from drawing themselves level.
With Deportivo pouring forward in attack and looking threatening, the home side struck a third to put the result beyond doubt. The ball fell to the feet of Sergi Enrich, who was played onside by a Deportivo defender, and with just Tytoń to beat, he instead squared for Florian Lejeune to walk the ball into an empty net and claim his first-ever La Liga goal.
Eibar's third goal served to crush Deportivo's hopes and the home side saw out the remainder of the game with Rubén Peña launching several counter-attacks which could have seen the Armeros add to their lead.
This victory, which represents the club's first-ever triumph over Deportivo in La Liga, sees Eibar cement their place in the mid-to-upper reaches of the league and place further distance between themselves and the relegation spots.