A day of firsts at Martiricos, with Míchel’s starting-11 including five players making their debut: Roberto, Baysse, Diego González, Adrián and Borja Bastón, the latter two being former Eibar players. It was precisely another ex, in this case an ex-Malaguista – Charles – who generated the first opportunity of the match, scoring a goal from a clear hand ball that was disallowed by the referee in minute 3. After 10 minutes, following a brilliant manoeuvre by Kuzmanovic, Juanpi almost scored with a shot at goal that grazed the rival post.
Again Charles, in the 20th minute of play, topped off a shot at close-range, but came up against a good response from Roberto. Equality presided over a match in which Eibar stood up to Málaga, who were well-positioned on their field of play, and entering on the wings more and more thanks to Rosales and Juankar. In minute 30, Juanpi again tried his luck, but was blocked by Dmitrovic.
A goalless draw prevailed after the first half. Before kick-off, an emotional minute’s silence was held in memory of Manel Casanova, as well as the victims of the attack in Barcelona.
As the second half got underway, both teams followed the same game plan from the first half, making no substitutions. Charles was the one to watch on the Eibar attack, and after various attempts, he put his team in the lead, sneaking the ball into the back of the net (1-0, 57’). Immediately thereafter, Míchel brought on Jony in place of Diego López, to give more strength to the attack. In minute 63, Borja narrowly missed out on an equaliser with a great distant shot, and shortly afterwards, Ontiveros replaced Juanpi.
Málaga’s activity grew on the wings with Jony and Ontiveros, but was just lacking more efficiency in the final metres. In 77’, Inui could have increased Eibar’s advantage, but Roberto stopped him in his tracks with a superb intervention. The team kept working to square up the scoreboard, and Borja, with a pass from Ontiveros in 81’, attempted to net a shallow kick. In the 89th minute, Jony was involved in a dubious action inside the area, and was shown the yellow card by the referee.
Málaga CF was unable to claim any points from this 2017/18 season debut, the team’s 10th consecutive season in the First Division, and on a day commemorating the 18th anniversary of the Club’s first match in the top flight.
