Elche continued their ascent away from the La Liga drop zone with a 2-1 win over Malaga at La Rosaleda this evening, despite having goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton sent off in the second half.
The visitors took the lead just before the half-hour mark when Jonathas smashed home his second goal of the week after a quick counter-attack.
The home side almost restored parity when Nordin Amrabat delivered a low cross towards Juanmi, who could only fire wide with 10 minutes of the first period remaining.
After the restart, Arthur Boka was supplied by the lively Amrabat inside the area, but the Ivorian's effort flew past the post.
Malaga had a goal ruled out when Amrabat was judged to have fouled Elche keeper Tyton after a deep cross.
Elche were dealt a blow when Tyton was then sent off for pulling Javi Guerra to the ground, but the Andalusians missed their chance when Duda hit the post from the resulting penalty.
The 10 men of Elche were content to soak up the pressure, and their gameplan worked when they caught Malaga with another counter-attack in the final minute of normal time.
Jonathas fed Mario Pasalic, who converted to double the visitors' advantage, but Malaga responded four minutes into stoppage time through Guerra.
However, Elche held on to secure the points and move up 10 points clear of the drop zone in Spain's top division.
Paul Gorst
