A single goal from Jonathas dented Athletic Bilbao’s European ambitions for next season with their 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad.

The goal from Sociedad was the game’s first real opportunity when the forward struck home in the 17th minute which was followed by further attempts from Jonathas and Carlos Vela to double the lead but to no avail.

The intensity remained fellow throughout the second half also with half chances from Raul Garcia, Benat, Aymeric Laporte, Aritz Aduriz and Iker Muniain but despite all the home pressure they could nothing to avoid the defeat.

Tale of two keepers

It was very quiet beginning to the contest at the San Mames but despite their not been many chances both keepers were called upon to make crucial saves in the opening periods.

The first came from Geronimo Rulli who was forced into a routine save from Benat who tried for the spectacular from the outside the box but it was straight down the keeper’s throat.

Gorka Iraizoz was made to work a bit harder for his first real save of the afternoon when Jonathas followed a similar road to Rulli with his effort from outside the box and looked destined for the bottom corner but the keeper was equal to it.

Sociedad takes the lead

However he couldn’t do anything to prevent the Brazilian giving the away side the lead just 17 minutes in.

Vela and Jonathas combined once again as the Mexican played the ball into the striker and he made no mistake as he hit it straight down the middle to give them the lead.

They could have doubled the lead just after the half-hour mark when the goal scorer had another opportunity to get his brace when he latched upon to Xabi Prieto’s through-ball with another long-distance but Iraizoz was equal to it.

Bilbao pressure

After arguably sleepwalking their way through the first period Bilbao came to life as they stepped out the second 45 minutes and had a string of half-chances to get back into the game.

The first came in the 51st minute when Garcia rose highest to Markel Susaeta’s corner and it looked destined for the goal but it was just wide of the top left-hand corner.

The next came from Laporte just after the hour mark when the young French defender tried the shot from a difficult angle after Aduriz’s header but it was easily saved by Rulli.

Half-chances

Bilbao continued to turn up the pressure as the match entered its latter stages with Aduriz had a good opportunity of his own with 23 minutes to go. He picked up the ball from the corner close to the penalty spot but he unfortunately dragged it wide.

Muniain and Pardo both had similar chances as the game entered the final 20 minutes but both efforts proved just too high of the target.

The final opportunity came a minute from the end when Pardo put a desperate ball into the area with it eventually falling to Prieto but his effort was high of the target and their defeat was sealed.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.