There was a buoyancy in the stands before kick-off, and that feel-good factor increased in the eighth minute after a horrible moment from Los Vallecanos shot-stopper Diego Lopez. The keeper’s casual clearance was intercepted by Adri Embarba, who Lopez brought down in the box, but Lucas Robertone coolly slotted home the loose ball. Robertone’s strike ended a run of four consecutive league games without a goal since current Real Sociedad striker Umar Sadiq’s effort in a 2-1 win over Sevilla on 27th August.
Before the midway point in the half, La Union doubled their advantage. Srdjan Babic rose highest in the box to meet Embarba's excellent corner with a deflected header which beat Lopez, despite his best efforts to keep the ball out. Almeria were in dreamland when El Bilal Toure added a third before half-time as Vallecano failed to deal with another Embarba set-piece, allowing the Mali international to score his first goal for the club.
Rayo made a triple change at the break in a bid to get back into the contest, with Oscar Valentin, Santi Comesana and Radamel Falcao all entering the fray. However, the trio failed to make the desired impact against a Rojiblancos defence that remained largely untroubled. Although that changed when Alejandro Catena headed in a consolation goal for Rayo, before Embarba was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a high challenge.
Nevertheless, Almeria secured all three points in what was their first win against Rayo in LL, moving them up to 14th in the table ahead of the weekend’s remaining fixtures. Meanwhile, this defeat for Andoni Iraola’s team leaves them with only one win from five league matches on the road.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lucas Robertone (Almeria)