Alimata Belem celebrates her goal along with the rest of her teammates.

Alimata Bélem decides the duel in Ipurua

SD Eibar beat RCD Espanyol 1-0 at the Ipurua stadium with a solitary goal from Alimata Bélem, who decided the match with a strike in the final stages of the game after capitalising on an error by Meritxell Muñoz. The Armero side begins the league championship with a victory and keeping a clean sheet.

29 AUG 2026


The opening minutes at Ipurua stadium saw an even contest. Ona Baradad showed early intent with a ball into the box that the home defence cleared before it went out for a corner. SD Eibar also threatened with a long ball for Carmen Álvarez, but the RCD Espanyol goalkeeper gathered the ball with little trouble. Emma Moreno tried her luck with a cross-shot into the box. RCD Espanyol sought a goal in attack, but Alimata Bélem remained impenetrable at the back to thwart their attacks. Before the break, Iñaki Goikoetxea's side looked for Sara Martín, but the winger was out of luck. The last chance of the first half was a set-piece delivery from Adela Rico that found no teammates and went wide. 



After the break, both teams made changes. Ángeles del Álamo came on for SD Eibar, while Sara Monforte made a triple substitution to try and change the pace of the match. Natalia Escot and Anita Marcos reinforced the RCD Espanyol attack, and Ariadna Doménech came into defence. The second half followed the same pattern as the first. Carmen Álvarez tried her luck with a shot that the visiting defence blocked, and Ángeles del Álamo also had her chance with a header from a corner, but a confident Meritxell Muñoz gathered the ball without problems to avert the danger. On the hour mark, Browne came on to give her team more firepower in attack. Meanwhile, Marianna Seidl made her debut for SD Eibar. The tension was high, but the goal wouldn't come. 

With fifteen minutes remaining, Cristina Baudet came on for RCD Espanyol, while Estefanía Botero replaced Carla Andrés in the home defence. Anita Marcos looked for a goal for RCD Espanyol, and Browne also created danger in the final third, though without success. At the other end, Meritxell Muñoz caught a cross-shot from the edge of the box. Thirsa de Meester had her first minutes for SD Eibar, and in stoppage time, just when it seemed the match would end in a draw, a delivery from the corner slipped from Meritxell Muñoz's grasp, and Alimata Bélem, who was the MVP of the match, was very alert to send the ball into the back of the net and decide the game. Browne appealed for a possible penalty in the next play, but the score remained unchanged.


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