Osasuna 2 - Numancia 0

Osasuna: Nuno; Yanguas, Aitor Ocio, Cruchaga, Mateo, Iban Pérez; Oscar Arpón (Palacios 77'), Angel, Lekumberri (Alfredo 60'); Armentano (Sabino 85'), Iván Rosado. 5-3-2.
Numancia: Alvaro Nuñez; Jaume (Iñaki 65'), Muñiz, Gustavo, Octavio (Ojeda 75'); Manel, Nagore, Caco Morán, David Pirri; Chispa Delgado (Barbu 65'), Rubén Navarro. 4-4-2.

Team changes: Osasuna: Nuno, Armentano for Sanzol, Sabino / Numancia: No change.

Goals:
1-0. 63. Armentano. Headed home cross from Mateo.
2-0. 90. Sabino. Finished off near to goal after header from Iván Rosado..

Osasuna finally recorded their first home win of the season, and they did it against one of the teams that is expected to be direct rival for relegation this year, Numancia. The victory also ends a run of twelve games without a win, and takes Osasuna out of the relegation zone and over Racing, Numancia and also Real Sociedad, who replace their Basque neighbours in last place. It was a particularly emotional match for Osasuna manager Miguel Angel Lotina, who had been in charge of Numancia when they won promotion to the first division two seasons ago, and he met many old friends who made the short journey from Soria to Pamplona for this game, including the Numancia president Francisco Rubio.

Lotina only made a couple of changes to his team, keeping Iván Rosado in the side for his first start on his new home ground, and bringing back Armentano alongside him in place of Sabino. Nuno returned in goal after a one match suspension, and defenders Yanguas, Aitor Ocio and Mateo all passed late fitness tests. Numancia manager Mariano García Remón kept to the same side for the third week in a row since taking over from Andoni Goikoetxea. Osasuna wanted to win, and enclosed Numancia in their own half right from the start. Iván Rosado hit the bar with a shot early on and Cruchaga saw his header cleared off the line by Pirri before Chispa Delgado finally replied for the visitors, sending a shot just wide.

After the interval Osasuna finally took the lead through Armentano, heading in a cross from Mateo, and as the game went into injury time, substitute Sabino finally put the fans out of their misery with a second goal. That might be vital if it comes down to goal average at the end of the season, when particular goal average counts. The win puts behind a difficult week for Osasuna, with two of their players jailed for fighting in a bar and then making threats to the local police. That is now forgotten, and life returns to normal. Both Numancia and Osasuna won their respective cup matches midweek, and that also gives them some encouragement, although Numancia did struggle against Barakaldo and only won on penalties. But at the end of the season, both names are still expected to be amongst those crossed out of diaries for next year's first division fixture list. Let's hope we are wrong (we often are).