Douvikas strike the difference as Celta Vigo edge 10-man Getafe in LaLiga

Andrew Pickering

Anastasios Douvikas of Celta Vigo celebrates scoring his team's only goalOctavio Passos / Getty Images via AFP

Celta Vigo bounced back from back-to-back LaLiga defeats with a 1-0 win over Getafe at the Stadio Balaídos - the first time in six attempts that Los Celestes have triumphed over Los Azulones.

In keeping with the minute’s silence for the victims of the recent flooding in Spain, it was a muted start to the match, but the home side would take the lead with the first shot of the game.

Having bundled his way to the byline, Celta captain Iago Aspas stood up a teasing cross to the back post which sailed over a flat-footed David Soria in the Getafe goal, leaving Anastasios Douvikas with a simple header into an open goal from two yards out.

The same three players were involved in one of the other rare moments of action in the first half, as Aspas arced a through ball with the outside of his foot into the path of Douvikas, but this time Soria was fleet-footed enough to race off his line and deny the Greek striker.

After a languid half where they failed to register a shot on target and Jose Bordalas felt obliged to make a tactical change after just half an hour, Getafe started brightly following the break, with substitute Alvaro Rodriguez forcing the first save of the game from Celta goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

The home side’s response was impressive but fruitless, as Aspas hit the post after good work from Jonathan Bamba before Douvikas failed to finish an impressive move as he headed wide from 10 yards out.

Getafe are LaLiga’s joint lowest scorers, and their chances of finding an equaliser became more unlikely as first-half substitute Juan Berrocal picked up his second yellow card in the space of 10 minutes, barrelling through the back of Douvikas with 25 minutes of the match left to play.

With the man advantage, Claudio Giraldez’s side dominated the closing stages but failed to add to their lead, with Borja Iglesias having a goal ruled out for a marginal offside and Hugo Alvarez drilling just wide.

In the end, the men from Galicia settled for a narrow but priceless win, which propels them into the top half of the LaLiga table, while Getafe remain 16th, two points clear of the relegation zone.