UD Tenerife - Athletic Club

Athletic Club Women beat UDG Tenerife 0-2 at La Palmera on Tuesday night. It was the Lionesses first ever victory at La Palmera, coming at the perfect time for Iraia Iturregi and her side.

Athletic were made to suffer for the win, but a performance marked by effort and teamwork ensured they ended a five-match winless streak and brought all three points back to Bilbao.

Las Rojiblancas had a good idea of how the game would go and they implemented their plan to perfection in the first half. The Lionesses pressed high and Irene Oguiza fired a warning shot early on.

The pressure paid off when Tenerife defender Maria Estella put an Oguiza cross into the back of her own net while being harrassed by young forward Clara Pinedo. It was a big boost for Iturregi's Rojiblancas, who stayed organised in the press and in attack.

María José gave the visitors a fright before the break with Tenerife's best chance of the half, but Mariasun Quiñones was equal to it. Athletic went into half-time with a slender lead.

In the second half, Koko tried to equalise but her shot was well saved by the Athletic keeper. The Lionesses were now forced to defend as the hosts began to push hard to restore parity.

The nerves were palpable. Quiñones got a hand to a shot across goal from Estella and with half an hour to go the Athletic shotstopper was made to work hard for her money.

The Lionesses had to sweat it out at La Palmera. The fans were right behind Tenerife, urging them on to find a leveller. However, with time running out for the hosts it was Athletic who got the all-important second goal.

In the 82nd minute, Pinedo put in a pinpoint perfect corner and Oihane Valdezate headed home to put the game to bed. With a 0-2 lead on the scoreboard, the Lionesses closed up shop and shut out Tenerife for the rest of the match.

A decent win for Athletic, who have now lifted the curse at La Palmera. More than that, it will serve as huge confidence boost while the Lionesses prepare for Saturday's clash against Valencia.