The Hindu : Sport / Football : Almeria loses to Zaragoza

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Almeria loses to Zaragoza

Madrid: Almeria is virtually doomed to be relegated from the Spanish League after losing 1-0 to fellow struggler Zaragoza on Monday.

Zaragoza was in the driving seat from the start, with Florent Sinama Pongolle coming close to breaking the deadlock on four occasions.

The only goal came 19 minutes from time. Zaragoza captain Gabi let fly with a powerful drive which hit the post and rebounded — then went in off the back of luckless Almeria keeper Diego Alves.

Gabi claimed the goal as his, but it will probably be put down as an own goal by Alves.

The goal finally caused Almeria to come out of its defensive shell. Nine minutes from time, Zaragoza keeper Toni Doblas had to push a header from Carlos Garcia onto his crossbar.

Pablo Piatti came close to levelling for Almeria seven minutes later, but his clever chip was cleared off the line by defender Paulo da Silva. Then Zaragoza midfielder Ander Herrera was sent off for a crude tackle from behind.

The final whistle was greeted with more relief than jubilation by the long-suffering fans in the Estadio Romareda.

The latest defeat leaves poor Almeria well adrift at the bottom, with just 26 points from 33 games.

The result: Real Zaragoza 1 (Diego Alves 70-og) bt Almeria 0 . — DPA

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