Athletic Bilbao 1 - 1 Deportivo La Coruna: Depor snatch precious point

Posted Sunday, May 10, 2015 by PA

Alberto Lopo scored with the last kick of the match as Deportivo La Coruna snatched a dramatic 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao which gives them a fighting chance of escaping the bottom three in the Primera Division.

The visitors trailed to Aritz Aduriz's goal for much of the contest but Lopo's header three minutes into stoppage-time sparked wild celebrations among the visiting players.

The draw is not enough to lift Depor out of the bottom three but they are level on points with Eibar, who hold the last position of safety.

However, the result is a sucker punch for Athletic in their hunt for a Europa League spot. Ernesto Valverde's men return to seventh spot in the table but with no breathing space over Espanyol.

Things looked to be going Bilbao's way when, after Inaki Williams and Mikel Rico had forced early saves from Depor goalkeeper Fabricio, they took the lead in the 15th minute.

Etxebarria Benat's punt forward fell for Aymeric Laporte, who played the ball into the heart of the area for Aduriz to finish with a header.

However, Depor soon picked up the pace and had chances to equalise before the interval. Luisinho carved a path through the home defence after 30 minutes but his final effort was weak, while Alex Bergantinos had the ball in the back of the net 11 minutes later but was deemed to be in an offside position when he met Celso Borges' assist.

The shots continued to rain in from both sides after the break and Athletic substitute Markel Susaeta came close on the hour mark with a volley which almost caught out Fabricio.

Oriol Riera then headed narrowly over for Depor while Aduriz should have had a second for the home side after 70 minutes. Bergantinos' slip in midfield allowed Williams to sneak in and get the ball over to the veteran forward, whose shot sailed over the head of Fabricio before striking the crossbar.

But it was the visitors who ramped up the pressure in the dying stages and the breakthrough finally came with the final whistle looming, when Ricardo Ivan Cavaleiro's neat ball into the box was finished by the head of Lopo.