Eibar suffer 1-0 home reverse to Alavés
An early Guidetti strike was enough to see off an Eibar performance that deserved more
Eibar succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against Alavés in the sides' LaLiga Matchday 32 meeting in an encounter that saw the Armeros grow stronger as the contest progressed. The visitors struck what proved to be the winner in the fourth minute, when John Guidetti fired the ball home. The hosts responded well to this early setback and went on to produce a strong performance for the most part, but ultimately failed to breach the visitors' backline.
Alavés made a fine start and duly forged ahead when Guidetti finished off a counter-attacking move with just four minutes on the clock. On several occasions, Los Babazorros capitalised and burst forward after the hosts had relinquished possession in the middle third. As the minutes ticked by, Eibar gained a foothold in the game as their most dangerous players began to make their mark.
In the 20th minute, José Luis Mendilibar's men fashioned their first clear-cut opening of the afternoon. Pedro León unleashed an effort following a fine solo run, only for Fernando Pacheco to palm the ball behind for a corner. From that moment on, the Armeros began to make more frequent inroads down the flanks, although the hosts' crosses failed to find any unmarked teammates inside the area.
The second half picked up where the first half had left off, as Eibar continued to dominate possession and play the ball around quickly as they sought to pose a threat on the visitors' goal. On 51', a dangerous-looking Pedro León free-kick again forced Pacheco into action.
An inspired Fabián Orellana proved to be the hosts' main attacking threat in the second period. The Chilean attacker drove the team on and was at the centre of numerous attacks and shots from outside the area, although these failed to yield any efforts on goal. Kike García came close to restoring parity when he redirected an Orellana strike with his head, but it simply wasn't Eibar's day in front of goal. The team kept battling on until the final whistle, but were unable to conjure up the equaliser they so richly deserved.