Draw before the break

Real Sociedad earned a valuable point in tonight’s clash at the Martínez Valero, as a late Oyarzabal penalty secured a deserved draw for the txuri-urdin before the international break.

The match got off to a lively start, with chances at both ends. The hosts pressed high in the opening minutes, but the txuri-urdin soon found their rhythm. Kubo tested Dituro with a brilliant first-time strike that forced the keeper into a fine save. Moments later, Mendoza responded with a shot from the edge of the box that clipped the outside of Remiro’s right post. What followed was an end-to-end exchange — Rafa Mir went close with an effort that flashed just wide, and Gorrotxa answered in kind with a powerful right-footed strike that narrowly missed the target. As the first half drew to a close, Oyarzabal came close twice: first with an ambitious long-range attempt that drifted wide, and then with a curling right-footed shot that the home goalkeeper superbly turned away for a corner.

Early in the second half, the hosts went ahead through Álvaro. Real responded well to the setback, with Aramburu forcing Dituro into action again with a powerful header. The txuri-urdin found it difficult to carve out clear chances, but just minutes before the final whistle, Sadiq was brought down in the box and Mikel Oyarzabal calmly converted from the spot to bring the scores level.

Real Sociedad heads into the break with another point, extending their strong run of recent performances. Every point counts, even if the target was all three. Now it’s time to recharge, reset, and come back even stronger after the break.

Match sheet:

Elche CF: Dituro, Núñez, Affengruber, Chust (Petrot, min.84), Pedrosa, Aguado (John, min.84), Febas, Mendoza (Redondo, min.90., Josan (cap)(Valera, min, 74), Rafa Mir (André Silva, min.94) and Álvaro (Fort, min.74).

Real Sociedad: Remiro, Aramburu (Aritz, min.93), Martín, Zubeldia, Sergio Gómez (Sučić, min.81), Gorrotxa, Soler (Aihen, min.75), Brais Méndez (Marín, min.75), Guedes (Sadiq, min.64), Take (Zakharyan, min.64) and Oyarzabal (cap).

Goals: 1-0: Álvaro, min.57. 1-1: Oyarzabal (pen), min.89.

Referee: Isidro Díaz de Mera. Booked Affengruber for Elche CF and Aramburu, Zakharyan and Gorrotxa for Real Sociedad.