Eibar Prevail Despite Red Cards in Fiery Ipurua Clash
Key Takeaways
- • Eibar edged Mirandés 2-1 in a dramatic encounter marred by two red cards
- • Javier Martón's 84th-minute penalty proved decisive after Álvaro Rodríguez's equalizer
- • Both sides finished with ten men after Gonzalo Petit and Anaitz Arbilla saw red
The match exploded into life in the 15th minute when Adrián gave Mirandés a shock lead against the run of play. The visitors, sitting deep and absorbing pressure, caught Eibar cold with a swift counter-attack that Adrián finished clinically past Luca Zidane. It was a sucker punch for the hosts, who had dominated possession in the opening exchanges, pinning Mirandés back for long stretches but lacking the cutting edge to break through.
Eibar's response came nine minutes into the second half when Álvaro Rodríguez Pérez restored parity with a composed finish. The equalizer shifted momentum firmly in the hosts' favor, but the match was about to descend into chaos. Just seven minutes later, Mirandés midfielder Gonzalo Petit received his marching orders, leaving the visitors to defend their point with ten men.
The numerical advantage should have tilted the contest decisively in Eibar's favor, but Mirandés defended resolutely, with Carlos Fernández and Iker Córdoba both picking up bookings as they threw their bodies on the line. Despite 14 attempts compared to Mirandés' 10, Eibar struggled to find the breakthrough until Martón's late penalty. The spot-kick came after sustained pressure, and the midfielder made no mistake, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Despite dominating possession at 65.1%, Eibar managed just four shots on target from their 14 attempts, highlighting their wastefulness in the final third. Mirandés were even less clinical, with only two of their 10 shots troubling Zidane. The statistics painted a picture of Eibar's territorial dominance—they won five corners to Mirandés' three—but also revealed how stubborn the visitors' resistance proved.
The drama wasn't finished. Deep into stoppage time, Eibar captain Anaitz Arbilla was shown a straight red card, reducing the hosts to nine men for the final moments. It mattered little, as the referee blew for full-time almost immediately, but it capped a tempestuous afternoon at Ipurua that saw 17 fouls from each side and five yellow cards accompany the two dismissals.
Eibar will look to build on this hard-fought victory in their next fixture, while Mirandés must regroup quickly after competing admirably despite the numerical disadvantage for the final half-hour.