Elche Wins Promotion to La Liga with 0-1 Victory over Girona

In one of the most unlikely stories in soccer this year, Elche CF won promotion to Spain’s top flight on Sunday night after defeating Girona by a 0-1 victory on the road in the promotion playoff final.

Elche, which spent most of the season outside of the promotion playoff spots and only qualified for the competition after sneaking into the sixth place spot after Fuenlabrada lost at Deportivo de La Coruna on the last matchday, upset the two favorites to gain promotion to La Liga.

After taking down Real Zaragoza in the playoff semi-final, they headed into their clash with Girona as clear underdogs. After drawing the first leg 0-0 at home, they headed into Sunday night’s game needing to win or tie with at least a goal scored to go up.

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Girona dominated the match for the first 60 minutes but didn’t find the goal. Then, everything changed when top goalscorer Christian Stuani was sent off after an ugly challenge, leaving the Catalan club a man down and without its star.

Elche pushed for a goal but didn’t break through until stoppage time when a Fidel Chaves cross found Pere Milla at the back post, who beat Girona keeper Asier Riesgo with a header.

Elche’s promotion to La Liga means the upcoming season will be their first in Spain’s top flight since the 2014-15 season.

Harley loves music and tries to go to a music festival every summer. When he's not listening to music, he writes about movies, food and wine, art, and sport.