Season ends with a draw

A farewell to a historic campaign. Real Sociedad brought their season to a close tonight with a draw against RCD Espanyol, a result that confirms the txuri-urdin finish tenth in the league table.

The hosts, still chasing a slim chance of European qualification, began on the front foot, but Aitor Fraga Marrero stood firm to deny their early pressure. Orri Óskarsson tested the goalkeeper with a well-struck cross-shot that was pushed away, and shortly afterwards, before the half-hour mark, he opened the scoring, finishing at the near post after a trademark delivery from Sergio Gómez.

Early in the second half, Óskarsson nearly doubled his tally, but his effort was cleared off the line by a defender. From that point, Marrero took centre stage. The Azpeitia-born goalkeeper produced three superb saves to keep out the “periquito” equaliser, although he was eventually beaten by a close-range finish from Roberto Fernández that restored parity. As the game edged towards its conclusion, chances were scarce, with only an opportunity for Dani Sucic being denied by the goalkeeper, as neither side did enough to take all three points.

A season to remember comes to an end. The Copa del Rey brought glory and secured European football for next year. Now it’s time to rest, recover, and prepare for a demanding campaign with four competitions ahead.

Match details:

RCD Espanyol: Fortuno, Rubén (Omar, 79’), Calero, Cabrera (c), Romero, Urko, Expósito, Carreras (Castell, 73’), Roca (Milla, 46’), Terrats (Dolan, 46’), Roberto (Kike, 67’).

Real Sociedad: Marrero, Aramburu (Aritz, 77’), Zubeldia (c), Beitia, Sergio Gómez (Aihen, 67’), Turrientes, Herrera, Soler (Rupérez, 90’), Ochieng (Marín, 67’), Sucic, Óskarsson (Oyarzabal, 77’).

Goals: 0–1 Óskarsson (29’), 1–1 Roberto (65’).

Referee: José Luis Munuera. Booked Cabrera for RCD Espanyol and Sergio Gómez, Herrera and Marrero (away) for Real Sociedad.