Girona battle back in 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad

Girona FC had to come from behind here to salvage a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad and extend their unbeaten streak in the La Liga football season.

Sociedad on Friday jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute courtesy of Willian Jose. But Cristhian Stuani's header in the 61st minute pulled Girona level.

Playing in his 50th match for the Basque club, Jose took a fine pass from Mikel Oyarzabal and beat defender Bernardo Espinosa one-on-one before putting the ball past Girona goalkeeper Bono, reports Efe.

The hosts seemed stunned after conceding the early goal and the pace and intensity went out of the match until the 38th minute, when Girona's Pablo Maffeo let loose a low, hard shot that forced a save from visiting keeper Geronimo Rulli.

The teams traded chances early in the second half -- Alvaro Odriozola for Sociedad and Johan Mojica for the home team -- before the visitors sat back in the confidence that they could preserve the narrow lead.

With more possession, Girona began posing questions of the Sociedad defense and the payoff materialised in the 61st minute with Cristhian Stuani's on-target header from close range at the Montilivi municipal stadium.

Scoring in his fifth consecutive match, the Uruguayan striker boosted his goal total for the season to seven.

Stuani's equaliser spurred Sociedad to action, but Bono turned aside shots by Adnan Januzaj and Oyarzabal to secure the point for the hosts in their debut season in the top flight of Spanish football.

--IANS

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