Shojaei yellow carded as Osasuna tie again

Numancia 0-0 Osasuna

Neither side looked like scoring in a fixture which also saw Numancia finish the game with 10 men following the late dismissal of Juan Carlos Moreno.

With just four rounds of the championship completed before this encounter, talk of a relegation clash seemed premature.

But both of these sides had begun the season poorly and came into this game with just three points apiece.

Numancia started the season with an impressive 1-0 win at home to Barcelona and pushed champions Real Madrid all the way in the second round of matches, eventually going down 4-3 in an epic encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But defeats against Sevilla and Villarreal followed, leaving the Soria-based side just above the drop zone after four rounds of the league.

Osasuna, meanwhile, came into this match having lost just once so far this term.

The Pamplona-based side's sole defeat had come in a narrow reverse at Valencia, but three draws in as many matches - against Villarreal, Mallorca and Deportivo La Coruna - meant Jose Angel Ziganda's team travelled to Soria in need of a win.

And the visitors had the better of a poor first half against a Numancia side lacking in both ambition and confidence.

Such was the tension that a quarter of the game had already elapsed before either team caught a glimpse of goal.

The opportunity arrived after 25 minutes when Javi Flano's mis-hit cross fooled Numancia goalkeeper Juan Pablo and rebounded off the post.

Iran midfielder Javad Nekounam then blasted well over the bar from distance as Osasuna probed once more.

Ziganda's side were enjoying the lion's share of possession at this stage, but were desperately lacking in quality in the final third and it was not hard to see why the Navarrans had only managed to score twice so far this season.

The first half came to an end in sterile fashion, but there was little change after the break.

Osasuna still looked the more likely to break the deadlock, although that was not difficult given that Numancia had failed to create a single scoring chance of note.

Czech Republic midfielder Jaroslav Plasil headed tamely off target for the visitors 10 minutes after the restart and Cape Verde-born striker Dady also sent a header wide halfway through the second period.

The game badly needed a goal, but it was hard to see where it would come from as both sides laboured towards a predictable stalemate.

Miguel Flano failed to make contact from close range with eight minutes left and Dady saw his effort blocked later on as Osasuna sought a dramatic last-gasp winner.

But neither side truly deserved the three points and both had to settle for one as the referee finally blew time on a forgettable encounter.

Both clubs move two points clear of the relegation zone and will be content to have got something from the game.

On this showing, however, it will be a long, hard season for Numancia and Osasuna.