Girona snatch point from Espanyol in tense Catalan derby

Espanyol 1-1 Girona

While Espanyol have been battling for survival all season, concern has been growing at Girona that they could be dragged into that battle, with just six points separating them from the relegation zone. The large stakes were evident in the football on a cold Monday night at the RCDE Stadium.

Girona started off the better, controlling the game and playing in Espanyol’s half for the most part, with Arthur Melo and Ivan Martin directing matters in the early going. Penetrating Espanyol’s solid block of defenders was proving more difficult though, and it was Los Pericos who began to grow towards the end of the half. While Arnau Martinez flashed a ball across the box, it was Javi Puado for the home side that brought the first save of note, forcing Paulo Gazzaniga into an excellent stop just before the halfway point.

The second half saw Espanyol come out the blocks faster too, and after an early chance for Robert Fernandez, they broke from the edge of their own box, with Jofre Carreras being fed on the halfway line. He drove hard and straight at the Girona defenders, and unchallenged, released a brilliant effort into the corner just before he reached the edge of the opposition area.

Things seemed to be uphill for Girona from that stage onwards, even as Girona layed siege to the Espanyol box in the final 20 minutes. Espanyol were breaking with speed, and tackling hard, spurred on by the crowd. Only in the final ten minutes did Girona look like getting something, and Joan Garcia was forced to continue his excellent form in order to keep out a volley from Yangel Herrera from close range.

Yet the air went out of the stadium when Viktor Tsygankov cut back onto his right in the box and an errant leg from Urko Gonzalez felled him. With just three minutes remaining, Cristhian Stuani passed the ball down the middle, as Garcia leapt for more heroics.

The points were shared, and Girona extended a winless run to five, but the gap to the drop zone to seven. Meanwhile Espanyol made it eight home matches without defeat, but Los Pericos have just a two-point cushion to the drop. While Michel Sanchez will be relieved to have avoided defeat, it was not a performance that will have arrested his concerns much. On the other hand Manolo Gonzalez will feel it is two points dropped from a generally solid showing.