American coach Matarazzo gets first win as Real Sociedad sneak late win at Getafe

MADRID (AP) — Brais Mendez scored the goal of the season as Real Sociedad beat Getafe 2-1 and gave American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo his first victory in charge of the Basque club on Friday.

The ball fell kindly for the big midfielder just on the 18-yard line and he struck the sweetest of volleys past a desperate keeper late in the first half.

Advertisement

Juanmi equalized for Getafe in the 90th minute, but defender Jon Aramburu gave Sociedad the win when he headed home from a corner six minutes into added time.

The result was a welcome victory for new boss Matarazzo. He replaced Sergio Francisco just before Christmas after Sociedad’s worst start to La Liga in a decade.

He led his new signings to a creditable 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in his first match and was fortunate that the goalkeeper’s release from the late corner contributed to his side’s victory at Getafe.

The result propelled Sociedad into the top half of La Liga, level on points with Getafe but ahead of them on goal difference.

Advertisement

It was the fifth defeat in six matches for the Madrid club, who ended a four-game losing streak with a last-minute equalizer last week at Rayo Vallecano.

Venezuelan Aramburu dedicated his goal to his compatriots and stressed that Matarazzo’s message was that they needed points anyway.

“The boss told us it wouldn’t be the greatest game but we just had to go out and win,” Aramburu said.

___

AP Football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer