Second-Half Surge Sees Deportivo Alavés II Overpower Basconia, Deepening Basconia’s Early-Season Struggles at Artunduaga

By the time the sun had swung low over Estadio Artunduaga on Sunday afternoon, the match between Basconia and Deportivo Alavés II had tilted from tense stalemate to emphatic statement, the visitors emerging 2-0 victors and leaving Basconia to reckon with the hard mathematics of a winless opening five games in the Segunda División RFEF.

For nearly an hour, the encounter fit the script of two sides searching for traction in a tightly packed Group 2 table—neither team yielding much, both wary of overextending, and the ball pinging with nervous energy between ambitious but hesitant midfields. Then, just after the interval, Alavés II punctured the equilibrium.

The game's turning point arrived in the 57th minute, when a well-worked move from Alavés II finally found its reward. The scorer’s name was lost to the official record, but not the significance: a sharp finish, a surge towards the away bench, and the sense that Basconia’s resistance—so fragile across September and early October—was once again slipping away.

Chasing the game, Basconia turned to directness and urgency, desperate to summon the spirit of late comebacks that had yielded draws earlier in the campaign. There were moments—a half-chance carved down the right, a teasing free kick nodded just over—but the hosts, short on confidence and synergy, never found the finishing edge to undo Alavés II’s growing composure. Instead, as stoppage time loomed, the visitors pounced on Basconia’s stretched lines. The decisive counterattack was swift and clinical, culminating in a second goal in the 90th minute that sealed three points and sent the Alavés II bench spilling into celebration.

For Basconia, the defeat extends a bleak run that now spans five matches without a victory—three draws, two defeats, and just three points to show for their honest toil. They remain mired in 17th place, the beginnings of a relegation struggle now more than just a stray worry. Their attacking output, again stifled, magnifies a growing concern: in five matches, Basconia have struck just five times, with none of those goals coming in front of the home support since the second round.

Sunday’s loss follows a familiar pattern from recent fixtures: moments of promise undone by lapses at crucial junctures. One week ago, they fell 2-1 at Amorebieta, the week before by the same score against Real Zaragoza II, despite late goals in both. The ability to strike back—witnessed in late draws at Alfaro and Utebo—has not yet translated to the more difficult business of closing out matches when it matters most.

Alavés II, in contrast, arrived in Basauri with their own questions. Their campaign had started with promise before back-to-back defeats in September threatened to stall momentum. Yet with this victory—their second in three matches—they climb into 10th place with seven points, reasserting themselves in the crowded mid-table pack.

Consistency has eluded Alavés II in recent weeks—a narrow loss at Mutilvera here, a hard-fought draw against Sestao River there—but their away performance at Artunduaga showcased not only resilience but a growing maturity in game management. Both their goals arrived at quintessentially decisive moments: one to shatter a deadlock, the other to punish Basconia’s late desperation.

Head-to-head history between these two reserve sides often reads as a microcosm of the league’s volatility—matches defined by narrow margins and youth-driven unpredictability. But Sunday night’s result was clear-cut, Alavés II executing with discipline, Basconia left once more with regrets and questions.

There were no red cards, though tempers flickered at stages as both sides pressed their claims. For Basconia, the only consolation is the knowledge that a long season remains; the danger, of course, is that habits of losing can be hard to shed as pressure mounts. With another fixture looming, coach and squad must find answers quickly—be it tactical recalibration or a catalyst in attack—lest the gap to safety becomes an early-season chasm.

For Alavés II, the path forward is suddenly brighter. Back-to-back clean sheets and renewed confidence in front of goal suggest a team that can aspire to more than mere consolidation—if they can sustain this resolve away from home, a push for the playoff places is hardly out of reach.

As the evening settled on Basauri, the narrative belonged wholly to Alavés II: a professional victory, a springboard back into relevance, while Basconia’s restless search for a first win of the season grows all the more urgent.