Former Nigeria youth international Umar Sadiq bagged the winning goal as Almeria edged Alcorcon 1-0 at the Estadio Santo Domingo on Sunday afternoon.
Coach José Manuel Gomes' men needed to win badly in the Segunda Division game week 17 clash after losing steam in their race for promotion with a narrow defeat to Mallorca last weekend.
And after a goalless first half, Gomes sent on Sadiq in the 57th-minute and almost instantly felt the Nigerian forward's impact.
Two minutes after his introduction, Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sadiq broke the deadlock, which also proved to be the match-winning goal.
It is Sadiq's fourth goal in 14 games since he switched Serbia for the Spanish second division in the summer.
The slim win lifts Almeria to third on the league table with 32 points, three points behind leaders Mallorca.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, Aiyegun Tosin was among the goalscorers as Zurich smashed four goals past Lausanne Sport at the Stadion Letzigrund.
Tosin netted just before the half-hour mark to make it 2-0 to the hosts after T. Domgjoni had gotten the opener ten minutes earlier.
Two late goals from Kololli and Ceesay added gloss to the scoreline for Zurich. It was the 22-year-old Tosin's second league goal in five starts this term.
