An uneventful opening to this game became an exercise in which midfield could keep the ball for the longest, as possession passed back and forth with no apparent purpose.
The first chance of note arrived in the ninth minute when Alex Remiro pulled off a one-handed save from Andre Silva’s effort, following a brilliant Elche move.
No shots at all from La Real in the opening 20 minutes told a story, but just three minutes later, Luca Sucic bent home a pivotal opener at the second attempt, completely against the run of play.
Elche’s penalty appeals soon after that fell on deaf ears, when Sergio Gomez looked to have fouled German Valera, but they had nobody to blame but themselves for what happened next.
An awful back pass left Elche goalkeeper Inaki Pena in no man’s land, and Mikel Oyarzabal had the simplest of finishes into an empty net for Sociedad’s second, but there was still time before the break for Elche to go ‘route one’ and pull one back thanks to a tidy left-foot finish from Silva.
Sociedad were much quicker out of the blocks after half-time, though only Remiro’s shoulder stopped Elche from equalising through another route-one special from Pena and Silva.
Not two minutes later, Pablo Marin looked to have grabbed the hosts’ third, but it was belatedly ruled out for offside.
Now a much more competitive game, the action switched rapidly from end to end, and an incredible Elche team move deserved a goal - and were it not for a last-ditch block from Silva’s shot, they would’ve had one.
The final quarter hour saw gaps developing all over the pitch, and though half chances came and went, neither side took advantage, including when Orri Oskarsson missed an open goal from two yards out.
In the final minute of normal time, however, Oskarsson redeemed himself and drove home a third to hand Sociedad all three points.
The result means Elche have lost three straight LaLiga games for the first time since April 2023, and are still without an away win this season (D4, L7).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad)
