Girona holds on to defeat struggling Espanyol

Espanyol's Pablo Piatti. (Manu Fernandez/AP)

MADRID — Girona avoided conceding late this time, holding on to beat Catalan rival Espanyol 1-0 in the Spanish league on Monday.

After allowing injury-time goals in its last two league matches, Girona closed out the game at Espanyol to halt a four-game winless streak in all competitions.

David Timor scored in the first top-flight meeting between the Catalan clubs just before halftime at RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, moving Girona to ninth place.

It was the fourth loss in five league matches for Espanyol, which dropped to 16th in the 20-team standings, near the relegation zone.

"We started well but in the end it was another loss," Espanyol goalkeeper Pau Lopez said. "It has been a very bad season so far."

Girona conceded injury-time goals in a draw at Real Betis two weeks ago, and in a loss against Alaves last week.

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