DJALMINHA MAGIC SEALS DEPOR WIN
The outrageously gifted forward has been ravaged by injury all season, but he showed no signs of rustiness as he raced onto a hopeful pass into the box and turned it into a goal by tricking a defender and curling the ball into the top corner.
Celta appeared intent on allowing the home side to have possession and play on the break, but they hardly ventured out of their own half in the first period.
Depor had a number of good chances in the opening stages, with Turu Flores the guilty part on more than one occasion.
Firstly, Emerson won a powerful header on the edge of the box and the ball fell to Turu Flores, but he never found any balance and stabbed the ball wide.
The next chance came after a superb free-kick move, but the ball just evaded the forward at the far post.
However, the best opportunity came courtesy of a foul by Yago on Diego Tristan that saw Deportivo awarded a penalty.
Turu Flores, who has not scored a league goal this season, was given the responsibility, possibly in a bid to boost his confidence, but he never looked settled and sent the ball wide of the left-hand post.
Celta came out far more positive in the second half and, as a result, the game was a more even affair.
It took 53 minutes for Celta to register their first shot on goal, but Valeri Karpin fired the ball wide when well placed.
On the hour, Depor keeper Jose Molina had a rush of blood and raced from his area, but he luckily got a block on Catanha`s effort.
Moments later, Molina made a more orthodox save, tipping over a fine volley from Doriva.
The introduction of Djalminha added some new spark for Depor and an audacious piece of skill on the edge of the box set Turu Flores away and he rounded the keeper, but delayed his shot and the ball was cleared.
It was almost inevitable that Djalminha would have a hand in the turning point in the game. It was, however, more than a hand, as he curled home the only goal of the game quarter-of-an-hour from time, taking the ball in the box, flicking it onto his left foot and curling a shot into the top right-hand corner.
This goal sparked the Riazor into a celebration frenzy and the home side were able to stroll through the rest of the game and claim all the points from the Galician derby.
