Eibar (Spain), Sep 16 (IANS): Eibar defeated Leganes 1-0 here in a La Liga contest marked by bad weather and a distinct lack of creativity.
For the hosts, the win on Friday was a fitting way to mark the 70th anniversary of the inauguration of this northern city's Ipurua stadium, as well as a dose of reassurance ahead of their next match: away to Barcelona, reports Efe.
Eibar set out to dominate in midfield, but visiting coach Asier Garitano's tactics ensured a quiet first half for Leganes goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar.
Omar Ramos was the best performer for Leganes, though his attempts posed no real challenge for home-side keeper Marko Dmitrovic.
Despite a heavy downpour at the start of the second half, both sides showed a lot more ambition.
The deadlock was broken in the 52nd minute when Eibar's Alex Galvez headed-in a cross from Takashi Inui to ignite a crowd whose mood had been as gloomy as the weather to that point.
Inui later had an opportunity to double the lead only to see his shot hit the crossbar, but Eibar proved capable of defending the 1-0 advantage to take all three points.
The outcome leaves each team with six points from four matches, but Leganes sits in the fifth place -- one above Eibar -- on goal difference.