Osasuna easily defeated Granada to earn their fourth victory of the year at a soggy El Sadar on Friday night.
The home team got off to a fast start and started to create opportunities. But after only fifteen minutes, they were ahead. After Ruben Pena evaded the offside trap by sliding Ante Budimir in behind, the large Croatian scored a goal to mark the start of his new contract. He controlled it and slipped it past Andre Ferreira in goal in two touches.
After Los Nazaries retaliated, Sergio Herrera’s hands were stung by Gerard Gumbau. Shortly after, Lucas Boye snuck in behind and forced Herrera into another one-on-one, and defender Alvaro Carreras forced him to dive to the far post from a corner as well.
But those were their greatest opportunities. Little went right for them after that. Bryan Zaragoza had Chimy Avila smiling just before halftime when he tried to dive into the box for which he was booked.
In the second half, Osasuna started to open up more space as Granada advanced, and Budimir once more closed the gap before being tackled by Ferreira. After a review, a penalty was awarded, and Budimir casually sent Ferreira the wrong way with his second.
With fifteen minutes remaining, Boye’s yellow was changed to a red, catching Aimar Oroz with his studs, further damaging Granada’s morale. Late in the game, Raul Garcia de Haro believed he had scored his first goal for Osasuna, but the goal was ruled offside because Kike Barja had cheated with his run.
After three consecutive draws, Granada suffers another setback, dropping them to 19th place with only one victory six games prior. Once more, there was no indication that the leaks at the back would stop. Despite their disappointing start, Osasuna’s victory vaults them back into the top half, and their level of ease in performing their job will inspire optimism for a better future.
