Arenas loses to Gernika conditioned by two expulsions

Playing with nine from minute 35 conditions anyone. And Arenas is no exception, as was demonstrated when they were defeated by Gernika in the Vizcaya derby. As if that were not enough, the two expulsions, highly protested, have arrived soon. At minute 25 the full-back Bravo saw the red and, ten minutes later, the same thing happened to Arana. Despite the physical waste, in the end the balance has tipped in favor of the visitors who have scored the only two goals through Sanz and Gorka Marcos.

Javier Oaizola’s team has started full, plugged in. Already in minute 1, a combination in the area between Arzuaga and Lizarraga ended with a volley from the latter that went too far across. By then the red and black exerted a high pressure that forced Aitor Larrazabal’s men to look for the forwards with balls and long clearances. Simplicity to remove risks and create them in the cons.

The disputes on the field were very clear in a physical match. Like the one that Zorrilla has maintained with the central defenders to take the initiative and shoot from outside the area, but the ball hit the defender’s leg and went to a corner. They fought for every inch of the field until in one of those long passes Bravo went to look for the ball in a fight with Ibai Sanz. In the dispute, the Gernika striker fell, who was hurting on the ground. The referee did not even signal the foul, but seconds later he cut off the play to deal with the visitor’s player and show the red card to the right-back.

By staying with ten, Olaizola has put Arana to better tie behind. And just ten minutes later he had to go back to the locker room because the referee showed him the red card. It was minute 35 and the match has become very uphill for the people from Getxo. From then on, Arenas has stuck to defending and looking for chances from set pieces to get oil, something that has not happened.

In the first half, Gernika had no added chances other than a shot from Aguirre that went high. But after the resumption, those of Larrazabal have exercised dominance. A few minutes after the restart, Gorka Aguirre lamented because his shot went too high. In the next play that ended in a corner, Argente managed to head but his header was blocked by a well-placed Altamira. It has been one of the few opportunities that the local team has enjoyed, condemned to defend their plot.

Visiting arrivals were gaining danger as the minutes passed. In minute 69, Landeta signed a save after a point-blank shot from Aguirre -very active and prominent in the match-, who was poisoned at the base of the post. And when it seemed that the feat could be accomplished, the first goal arrived. Agirre has centered from the right measured so that Sanz, who was entering from behind, anticipated the defenders and finished off only with a header. It has been an unappealable header. Hopes were dashed for Arenas when only two minutes later, after a mess in the area, the ball reached Gorka and Marcos, who slipped it through the only hole in the back of Landeta’s goal.

In the end, the referee took a loud whistle in Gobela, where the public – some 600 people – stood up, gave a standing ovation to the local team for their dedication in a match in which they have shown their faces from start to finish.