Athletic Bilbao 1 - Zaragoza 2

Bilbao: Lafuente; Lacruz, Alkorta, Oscar Vales, Larrazábal (Yeste 80'); Urrutia, Felipe; Joseba Etxeberria, Julen Guerrero, Ezquerro (Javi González 46'); Urzaiz. 4-2-3-1.
Zaragoza: Juanmi; Cuartero, Lanna, Paco, Pablo; Acuña, José Ignacio; Juanele, Montenegro (Garitano 77'), Vellisca (Ferrón 87'); Jamelli (Yordi 77'). 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Bilbao:Felipe, Ezquerro for Orbaiz, Del Horno / Zaragoza: Cuartero, Lanna for Rebosio, Sundgren.

Goals:
0-1. 22. Jamelli. From edge of area after Juanele stepped over Montenegro cross.
1-1. 47. Javi González. Cross-come-shot from left wing which went over keeper.
1-2. 90. Lacruz (own goal). Miskicked clearance from Garitano free kick.

Football is a funny game. All the signs were that Bilbao would win this one easily; Zaragoza hadn't won once this season, and had lost eight and drawn two of their last ten league appearances in the San Mames stadium. Bilbao's new manager Txetxu Rojo was in charge at Zaragoza last season, and knew all their strengths and weaknesses, especially as their line up for this match, with the exception of Montenegro for Milosevic, contained the same players in the same formation that Rojo used. The Zaragoza defence was decimated by injuries, with Aguado, Rebosio and Sundgren out, and their attack was in disarray, with Yordi not fully recovered from flu. True, Athletic were missing Orbaiz, victim of appendicitis on Tuesday, but other than that they had a first choice eleven, with their three current Spanish internationals, Guerrero, Etxeberria and Urzaiz all in the side.

But Bilbao this season have yet to get their act together, and once again they put up a disappointing performance against a Zaragoza team that wanted to demonstrate that they were too good to be at the foot of the table. They surprised the Basques, attacking straight from the kick off, and after Lafuente turned a shot from Pablo away for a corner in the first minute, Urrutia cleared off the line from Juanele. It was only a matter of time, and halfway through the half the side from Aragón took the lead, with Juanele once again in the thick of things. The ex Sporting and Tenerife veteran laid the ball out to the right, and Montenegro turned it back across goal. Juanele made to shoot, but stepped over the ball at the last second, leaving Jamelli free to drive a shot past Lafuente.

Rojo must have said something to his players at half time, because they came out in the second half a changed side. They had not scored a goal in three and a half matches, but two minutes into the half Javi González, who had replaced Ezquerro on the left wing at the break, scored with almost his first kick of the game, albeit a little fortuitously, with a cross which floated over the keeper into the back of the net. They then had two valid penalty claims turned down by referee Undiano Mallenco (who thinks up these names?), the first after a trip by José Ignacio on Felipe just inside the penalty area which Undiano said was outside, and the second when Paco pulled down Urzaiz. Juanmi then came into his own as the international trio moved up a gear, saving from each of them in turn to send a message to Camacho that he too was back in form.

Costa brought on new players to stem the tide, and one of them, Garitano, took a free kick from the left as the game entered the dying seconds. Lacruz tried to clear, but the ball spun off his boot and crept into the corner of his own net. Bilbao couldn't believe it, but this was not their day, and Guerrero saw his injury time shot strike the post and bounce clear. Zaragoza breathed a sigh of relief, no-one more so than club president Alfonso Solans, who had just confirmed caretaker manager Luis Costa in his post until the end of the season, adding that he would shave his head if they were relegated. They climb off the bottom ahead of Osasuna, with Bilbao slipping perilously close to the relegation zone in seventeenth place. Rojo doesn't know what to do next, but he needs quick results if his stay at his home town Bilbao is to be a long one.