Eibar claim 1-0 win over Villarreal to keep the dream alive
A solitary Kike García strike was ultimately enough to separate the sides
Eibar tonight overcame Villarreal in the teams' Matchday 26 fixture in what was an even contest in which the hosts were made to fight right until the death to claim all three points. José Luis Mendilibar's men showed an ability to dig deep in the final stages to secure the spoils. Kike García's winner, which came within the opening 15 minutes, sees the hosts take a massive step in their pursuit of the club's target and serves to allow the Armeros to keep on dreaming.
Despite the two teams trading the upper hand in the opening exchanges, Eibar began proceedings firmly on the front foot and managed to camp themselves in the visitors' half. Villarreal gradually began to grow into the game and had the chance to break the deadlock through Enes Ünal after Marko Dmitrović had miscalculated his timing after coming charging off his line to meet a through ball.
With 16 minutes played, a ball in behind the Villarreal backline found Pedro León and his cross picked out Kike García, who slotted home to hand Eibar the lead in what was their first attack of the game. Just minute later, Denís Chéryshev fired in an effort from the edge of the area that sailed over the bar. Eibar were pressing the visitors hard and this saw the home side hold on to their lead pretty comfortably.
After the restart, the game became a very even affair, with both sides enjoying spells of dominance. The Armeros looked to capitalise on their strong start to double their advantage. Right at the beginning of the second period, Pedro León unleashed a fierce left-footed strike that flew just wide. Ünal then responded with a free-kick that Dmitrović gathered in with minimal fuss.
Just as they had done in the opening 45 minutes, Villarreal began to get on top and were making inroads on the Eibar goal. The visitors were now bossing possession and sought to exploit the pace of their frontmen to catch the Eibar backline out.
However, the Armeros stood firm and a tremendous show of teamwork and endeavour saw them resist the Villarreal onslaught and make Kike's goal count to claim three precious points in the bid to achieve the team's target.