Elche gets first win in Spanish league at 20th try
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Elche ended its excruciatingly long wait for a win in the Spanish league on Saturday after Pere Milla scored a hat trick to beat Villarreal 3-1 at home.
Last-placed Elche, a modest club from southern Spain, endured the entire first half of the league without a single win.
The victory finally came in Round 20 against a Villarreal side that beat Real Madrid last month and is fighting for a Champions League berth.
Elche, playing under its third coach of the campaign, will still need a major turnaround to avoid relegation. It has just nine points and sits 11 points from safety.
Milla, playing in his fourth season at Elche, opened the scoring when he fired a deflected ball past Pepe Reina three minutes after kickoff in Elche.
Gerard Moreno equalized in the 22nd with his eighth goal across all competitions from a pass by Álex Baena.
But Milla converted two penalties in the 48th and 52nd to ensure the 18,000 fans who turned out could finally have a reason to celebrate. The spectators did the wave at Martinez Valero Stadium in the final minutes of the game.
That doubled Milla’s tally of goals in the league this season to six.
Villarreal stayed in fifth place, three points from the Champions League positions, after a second straight loss for Quique Setién’s team.
Also, Espanyol came back to draw at home with Osasuna 1-1 in a game both teams finished with 10 men after their players received second bookings shortly before halftime.
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