Eibar 2 - 0 Levante: Borja Baston on mark again as Eibar ease past rock-bottom Levante

Posted Monday, February 15, 2016 by PA

Eibar boosted their hopes of finishing in the European places after beating struggling Levante 2-0 and picking up their first win in four matches.

Borja Baston continued his rich goalscoring form by putting the hosts ahead after 37 minutes, and an own goal by Tono Garcia after the break sealed the win for the Basques, who move to within four points of Sevilla in fifth place.

Despite a positive if futile display against league leaders Barcelona last week, Levante struggled to create chances on the wet Ipurua playing surface and were outfought by a gritty, physical Eibar defence, protected by the excellent midfielders Gonzalo Escalante and Dani Garcia. They remain bottom of the Primera Division, needing five points to escape from the relegation zone.

Both teams struggled to get a grip on the game in the early stages but some fine play by returning midfielder Jota allowed the hosts to break the deadlock.

The Brentford loanee spread the play from the right of midfield to Takashi Inui, who delivered a first time cross for Baston to knock in from close range for his 16th goal of the season.

Eibar had further chances to score towards the end of the first half but did not find a second until 58 minutes.

The hard-working Escalante brought the ball forward down the right-hand side and slid a pass towards Adrian Gonzalez at the near post, and the midfielder battled with Tono, who ended up nudging the ball into his own net. Levante goalkeeper Diego Marino appealed for a foul against Gonzalez, but his appeals fell on deaf ears.