Osasuna held off a late fightback from Elche to pick up their first points of the La Liga season with a 2-1 victory in Pamplona tonight.
Prior to kickoff, Los Rojillos had lost all four of their opening games, but a hard-fought home victory means that their opponents are now winless in their five matches of the new campaign.
Javi Garcia's side took an early lead when a loose pass from Roberto Torres inadvertently found Argentine midfielder Emiliano Armenteros, who rifled a shot into the bottom corner on 16 minutes.
Newly-promoted Elche's best opportunity for an equaliser before the break fell to Carlos Sanchez, whose close-range effort was well kept out by Osasuna stopper Andres Fernandez.
A second from Oriol Riera, who tucked away the rebound from his original shot, three minutes after the interval, gave the hosts breathing space, which they had until the 88th minute.
When Marc Bertran was adjudged to have handled in the box, Elche were given a lifeline and Edu Albacar ensured a nervy finish when he confidently converted from the spot.
However, there was not enough time for the visitors to earn their fourth draw of the season, as Osasuna moved off the bottom of the table with their first success of the campaign.
Joe Fish
