Sportinglife - Osasuna secured their Primera
Liga status on Sunday while leaving opponents Real Sociedad on the verge of
relegation after a 2-0 home win at the Reyno de Navarra.
David Lopez and Javad Nekounam struck Osasuna's goals in the first half as
the UEFA Cup semi-finalists made it two wins out of two, having previously
failed to win in seven outings in La Liga.
That result means the Pamplona-based side are now 10 points above the bottom
three with just two games remaining.
However, it is another step closer to the Segunda Division for third-bottom
Sociedad, as this result combined with Athletic Bilbao's victory over Real
Mallorca means they are four points from safety heading into the final two
rounds of fixtures.
Sociedad had the first chance to gain the upper hand in this Basque derby
when Darko Kovacevic sent a glancing header from Savio's second-minute
free-kick arrowing towards the corner of the Osasuna net.
But Osasuna goalkeeper Ricardo flung himself at the ball to turn it behind
for a corner, which Sociedad were unable to do anything with.
Osasuna's first decent effort came in the 10th minute when a mis-hit
clearance from Sociedad goalkeeper Claudio Bravo fell to Valmiro Valdo 35
yards out and his first-time strike only just missed the goal.
Osasuna found themselves in front not long after though, when David Lopez
headed home in the 26th minute.
Valdo sent over a perfect cross from the right and Lopez rose unchallenged
to nod in from five yards out.
Savio showed his dead-ball prowess as Sociedad sought an immediate
equaliser, but the Brazilian's curling free-kick flew narrowly wide and
Osasuna made the most of that warning by netting a second goal soon after.
Again the visiting defence were found lacking in the air as Lopez swung a
corner in from the left and Nekounam rose above a cluster of players on the
six-yard line - including Bravo - to head into an unguarded net.
Osasuna looked to build on their lead in the second half and birthday boy
Roberto Soldado had a half-chance only to be denied by a good tackle by
Victor Lopez as he was about to pull the trigger.
Netting a goal would have capped a memorable few days for on-loan Real
Madrid striker Soldado, who not only turned 22 on Sunday but also earned his
first call-up to the Spain squad on Friday.
Sociedad kept plugging away despite being two goals in arrears, and Savio
went close with another free-kick before Kovacevic saw a goal-bound effort
blocked by Carlos Cuellar.
It was Osasuna who looked the more likely scorers in the closing stages
though, and highly-rated midfielder Raul Garcia rattled the Sociedad
crossbar after breaking in behind the visiting defence.
Valdo also had a chance to make it 3-0 but he somehow managed to side-foot
wide when unmarked near the penalty spot.
Osasuna coach Jose Angel Ziganda will not be overly concerned by his side's
missed chances though as they got the win which will allow them to fight
another season in the Spanish top flight.
