Cadiz grab vital win in bid for LaLiga survival against Girona
Girona claimed their first clean sheet of the LaLiga season with a 1-0 win over Valencia last weekend, but their hopes of recording another shutout were dashed within six minutes.
After evading a couple of visiting defenders with some dazzling footwork, Brian Ocampo lifted the ball to the back post, where it eventually fell to January arrival Gonzalo Escalante.
With the help of a deflection, he found the net for a second straight game in his new club’s colours.
Knowing that sitting back would do them no favours, Cadiz went in search of a second goal, with Iza Carcelen’s driven shot forcing Paulo Gazzaniga to push the ball around the post.
From the subsequent corner, Sergi Guardiola - who joined on loan from Real Valladolid last month - could only guide his right-foot strike into the side-netting.
But despite failing to hit the target, Guardiola only had to wait until the 34th minute to open his Cadiz account, firing the ball into the bottom corner after being teed up by Theo Bongonda.
The visitors failed to get out of the starting gates in the first half, and their underwhelming performance continued after the break.
In fact, Girona’s first meaningful attempt of the second period did not arrive until the 68th minute, when a deflected cross found Ivan Martin, who sent his header agonisingly wide of Conan Ledesma’s goal.
Oriol Romeu also failed to trouble the Cadiz goalkeeper with a wayward header, which summed up Girona’s forgettable evening in Andalusia.
With the visitors unable to offer much in the way of an attacking threat, the hosts eased to three precious points and consecutive home clean sheets. Girona remain in 11th place and continue to struggle on their travels, having won only one of their 10 away league games this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gonzalo Escalante (Cadiz)