Spain
Segunda Division
Saturday 18th February 2023
Kick Off 16.15 Actual 16.17
Club Deportivo Lugo 0 Sociedad Deportiva Eibar 2, attendance 2,786
40’ 0-1 (pen)
90’ + 2, 0-2
@ Estadio Anxo Carro
Avenida dos Deportes
27004 Lugo
€20 Admission
No Programme.
We could have done a couple of second level Portuguese games today and maybe even added a third level one, if games finished promptly. However, as I wouldn’t be contributing towards the driving, we went with just one game instead, heading north east across the border into Spain and it would certainly make for a more relaxing drive on Sunday, where we had a planned brace of matches even further east. It was just over 3 hours drive to cover the 170 miles from Barcelos to Lugo, not helped by a section of motorway being closed for roadworks, which meant a diversion on local roads for a small section. Spain is also one hour ahead of Portugal as far as time goes, but we had already factored that into our journey time, arriving in Lugo around two hours before kick off. Again the weather was glorious, hitting 25 degrees as we parked up in the near deserted car park at the foot of the hill leading up to the stadium. There was a Lugo youth team (looked about 14 or 15 years old) game going ahead on the 3G ground adjacent to the main stadium, which judging by the signage, was, or is, home to a local non-league club. We watched about ten minutes of this, in which time the visiting team scored three goals, before heading to the ticket office to purchase our tickets.
The Estadio Anxo Carro has an all seated capacity of 7,114 which includes a temporary looking stand at one end. Considering they have such a small ground, which they struggle to fill, they have managed to maintain their position in the second tier of Spanish football since they gained promotion at the end of the 2011/12 season, although that run could be coming to an end, as they came into this second bottom in the table. Eibar were fifth, just three points behind league leaders Las Palmas and very much in the battle for the championship.
Despite a mishit cross clipping the top of the crossbar, as well as missing an open goal following a corner to the far post, Lugo offered little to suggest they can avoid the drop at the end of the season. When Eibar went in front from the penalty spot five minutes before halftime, it looked to be an all too familiar situation for them. Following the goal, Eibar had an effort that hit the post, followed by one off the underside of the crossbar, but Lugo were thrown a lifeline when Eibar had a man red carded in stoppage time, dismissed following a V.A.R. review. Despite playing with an extra man for the entire second half, Lugo never looked like getting back into it. The visitors finally made the points safe when they doubled their lead two minutes into stoppage time, cutting in from the left, before smashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner.
