Sporting de Gijon 1 : 0 Almeria - Gijon claim vital win - 7M sport

Sporting de Gijon 1 : 0 Almeria - Gijon claim vital win



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Posted Sunday, March 20, 2011 by PA

Sporting Gijon gave their hopes of surviving the drop a further boost whilst damaging Almeria's own chances after claiming a narrow 1-0 win over their relegation rivals.

Miguel De Las Cuevas' hotly-disputed early strike proved the difference as Sporting, who started the match one spot and three points above 18th-placed Almeria, continued their recent revival with their seventh win of the campaign - five of which have come in the last 11 games.

Sporting would have been in buoyant mood after claiming a remarkable late point at Villarreal last week with only nine men, and they started confidently today with Andre Castro heading a David Barral cross against the post inside the opening three minutes.

Then, with 13 minutes on the clock, they took the lead with a scrappy - and controversial - goal from De las Cuevas.

A game of pinball in the Almeria area began when Diego Castro's shot was saved by Diego Alves and then, after De las Cuevas had fluffed a first opportunity and Barral has seen a shot blocked, De Las Cuevas was given a second bite of the cherry and this time he slammed his shot into the roof of the net.

However, the Almeria defence were fuming the goal was allowed to stand due to a handball by De Las Cuevas just before he scored.

The goal stood though, and it would prove to be the match-winning strike despite Almeria's best efforts to get back on level terms.

Before the break Almeria saw Modeste M'Bami fire a decent effort just over, while Henok Goitom was denied by a good diving save by Juan Pablo Colinas before the same player saw a goal ruled out for a marginal offside.

Goitom was then gifted a great chance to draw Almeria level in the second half when Colinas raced out of his area and completely mis-kicked an attempted clearance, but Goitom, after picking up the loose ball, saw his lob from the edge of the box go well over.

Almeria substitute Leonardo Ulloa also had a sight of goal but his header was cleared off the line by Alberto Rivera as Sporting held on for a potentially vital win.



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