Athletic Lleida claimed a 2:1 victory over Barbastro in a club friendly on Friday evening. The match ended with both sides having a player sent off, but the visitors held on for their win despite losing their last man in the 89th minute. Barbastro had gone down to ten men much earlier, when they received a red card in the 36th minute.
Athletic Lleida took the lead through a penalty in the 48th minute, converted by A. Lapena. Barbastro responded quickly, with D. Tena finding the net just five minutes later to level the score. But Athletic Lleida regained their advantage in the 59th minute when D. Carrillo scored to make it 2:1, and despite the late red card, they managed to see out the result.
The statistics told a story of dominance that didn't quite translate to control. Athletic Lleida enjoyed 65 per cent of possession and registered 127 attacks compared to Barbastro's 87. Yet Barbastro managed to keep the game competitive for long stretches, even after going a man down. Things came to a head late on when both teams saw red cards, but the damage had already been done for the hosts.
Barbastro's recent form had been mixed, with three wins and two losses in their last five matches. They had beaten Zaragoza 2:1 and Almudévar 1:0 in their most recent outings, but also suffered defeats to Escobedo and Barcelona. Athletic Lleida, meanwhile, had picked up three wins from five, including a 6:1 thrashing of Formentera and a 1:0 victory over Tudelano, though they had also lost two matches against Espanyol and Urense.
The result gives Athletic Lleida a confidence boost ahead of their competitive season. Barbastro will need to regroup quickly, particularly as they prepare for their next fixture. One mistake ends it in these kinds of matches, and this time it was the home side that paid the price.