The match between Real Sociedad and Real Betis on the Saturday evening finished with a 2-1 win for Sociedad at the Anoeta Stadium. 

Dominant Txuri-urdin and absent Béticos

The guests, which started into this meeting with nine matches without a win, needed to bring some points in and faced a strong opponent in the competitive battle for staying up in Primera Divison. On the other hand, the host also needed to bring some points in, because they were only one position behind the Green-Whites and want to leave the relegation battle as soon as possible. 

Real Sociedad had the better start and came Adán's goal more closer than the opponent from Seville, but the first chances were not really countable. Juan Merino's team took a while to came into play and first after about ten minutes, they had a first chance, which but was blocked by Sociedad's centre backs.

Sociedad built up and a lot of ball possession in the opening stage which made it even harder for the guests to find a way into the action. Betis gave the Sociedad players a lot of space and defended very deep and it didn't made the impression that Real Betis even aim to be after three points. 

In the 18th minute, Xabi Prieto scored the go ahead goal for Real Sociedad with a great header after a very accurate cross by left-back Héctor. The 24-year-old left-back got some space on the left wing and found the right moment to bring the ball into the penalty area, where Prieto had plenty of room to head the ball in.

Xabi Prieto celebrates his go-ahead goal from the 18th minute. (Source: Idea & media)

In the following 15 minutes nothing special happened but a perfect freekick by Ruben Pardo in the 33th minutes found the head of Íñigo Martínez and the 24-year-old centre back headed the ball in and extended the lead to 2-0. Goalkeeper Adán had absolutely no chance to save the ball and could only complain about his defenders not being in the right position.

Referee Prieto Iglesias blew the half-time whistle punctually and especially the Béticos went into cabines with disappointed faces. The offensive weakest team needed a miracle in the second half to turn this match even in a draw.

Béticos were born again

At the start of second half, Juan Melino substituted Molinero and Fabian and brought Joaquin and Ricky van Wolfswinkel into the match. On the other hand, Sociedad's Zaldua came in for Elustondo.

Only six minutes on the other side of the changeover, van Wolfswinkel had a lot of space on the right wing and only needed to cross the ball into the penalty area, where Ruben Castro had no opposing player and the 34-year-old striker made short work and scored the 2-1 strike.

Juan Melino's speech during the half-time had obviously an effect: his team played more offensively, more forceful and made the match more exciting. Real Betis got the control of this match and had more ball possession and was the team which give the note. The shots on goal were still missing and this was the main problem why the guests didn't score the equaliser shortly after they got one back.

Pietro Iglesias made a bad decision in the 73th minute after Dani Ceballos got fouled in the penalty area, but the referee denied the guests a clear penalty and also might denied the 2-2 draw. 

Unlucky Green-Whites

Real Betis definitely had shown a way better performance than in the first half and would have deserved the equaliser more than another goal for Sociedad. Below the line, the Green-Whites showed that you should not write them off and this match should motivate them, despite an unlucky loss against a competitor for the staying up.

On the other hand, Real Sociedad had a fantastic start in this meeting with scoring two goals in the first half, but couldn't cope with the opponent in the second half and made it unnecessary exciting.

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About the author
Pascal Martin
VAVEL author since June 2015. Sportswriter-to-be. Twitter: @pascalmrt87