Painful defeat at the Estadio Gran Canaria
Eibar succumb to defeat at Las Palmas after conceding from a last-gasp penalty
On the back of the last weekend's late joy at Ipurua, SD Eibar were today on the receiving end, after being undone by a spot-kick awarded in the dying seconds of this encounter.
UD Las Palmas bossed possession throughout most of the first half after the Armeros had come out and pressed the hosts in the opening stages. Quique Setién's side looked assured on the ball and managed to put together sustained periods of possession. That said, Eibar had a clear game plan and produced a disciplined defensive display which saw the Canary Islanders afforded few chances.
Whilst Las Palmas continued to dominate possession, whenever Eibar won the ball back, they sought to break away on the counter-attack. This gave rise a high-octane opening 45 minutes which saw chances come and go at both ends.
Fatigue began to set in after the interval and the intensity of the game dropped. Despite the hosts continuing to enjoy the lion's share of possession, Eibar imposed themselves and fashioned several opportunities to have made the breakthrough, notably through Kike García and a towering Gonzalo Escalante header, which whistled narrowly wide of the upright.
With both sets of players totally exhausted after having given their all, it looked very much as if the game would peter out and the spoils would be shared. However, Eibar conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area and after failing to properly clear their lines, Las Palmas were subsequently awarded a penalty. Up stepped Jonathan Viera, who made no mistake to seal victory for the islanders. It was a cruel late blow for Eibar and the Armeros fans who had made the trip to the Canary Islands to support the team.