Honours even at El Sadar
Osasuna and Eibar played out a 1-1 stalemate in Pamplona
CA Osasuna and SD Eibar shared the spoils as the sides served up a 1-1 draw tonight at El Sadar. The result does little for either's hopes, although it does see José Luis Mendilibar's men once again put points on the board. Kike García it was who got the Armeros' goal, as the forward swept the ball home with his first touch since returning from a two-and-a-half month layoff.
Eibar bossed proceedings throughout the first half and carved out several opportunities to have got their noses in front. However, Salvatore Sirigu in the hosts' goal pulled off several noteworthy saves to keep his side on terms.
Most of Eibar's chances fell to Japanese midfielder Takashi Inui, who came close to scoring on no less than four occasions, only to be denied by the Italian shotstopper.
Ander Capa and Gonzalo Escalante also had opportunities to have made the breakthrough, but failed to make their efforts count. The Armeros enjoyed the better of things during the opening 45 minutes and it felt as if it was just a question of time before they would take the lead.
However, the second half got off to a more even start as the visitors lost some of their intensity, whilst Osasuna gradually began to grow into the game.
Despite the improvement from the home side, firstly Inui and then Adrián enjoyed clear-cut chances to have broken the deadlock on 51' and 54'.
With 71 minutes on the clock, Kike García entered the fray in place of Adrián to bring an end to a two-and-a-half month spell on the sidelines. The fit-again Murcian really couldn't have hoped for a better return to action as he fired the Armeros in front with his very first touch.
Following the Eibar goal, Osasuna came out all guns blazing and the hosts reaped their rewards when Fran Mérida back-heeled the ball to Jaime Ramero, who crossed for Kenan Kodro to tap home the equaliser.
After having restored parity, the Navarrans poured forward in search of a winner and on this occasion it was Sirigu's opposite number, Yoel, who was on hand to save his team with several fine stops.