Carlos Gurpegi struck with virtually the last touch of the match to earn Athletic Bilbao derby honours from a 1-0 win against Osasuna at San Mames this evening.

The clash between the two northern rivals looked destined to finish in stalemate as the game entered stoppage-time still goalless, but Athletic captain Gurpegi had other ideas.

He charged in at at the near post to glance in David Lopez's left-wing corner before wheeling away in delight, ripping off his shirt and celebrating with his team-mates and the ecstatic home fans.

There was barely time after that for Osasuna to restart the match before the referee blew for full-time, allowing Athletic to climb up to 10th in the standings with their sixth victory of the campaign.

Travel-shy Osasuna remain in 12th spot, now four points behind Joaquin Caparros' side, after suffering their sixth defeat in seven away matches this season.

The Pamplona-based side had recorded just one point and one goal on their travels prior to tonight's game, while in their last eight league and cup visits to San Mames they had won only once and lost five times.

However, Jose Antonio Camacho's side came close to taking a surprise early lead tonight when Nacho Monreal just failed to convert a header in the 10th minute.

The remainder of the first half largely belonged to Athletic, though, with star striker Fernando Llorente going close on more than one occasion.

Llorente's fellow World Cup winner Javi Martinez then twice tested Osasuna goalkeeper Ricardo Lopez at the start of the second half before the visitors created two more decent openings of their own.

The first saw Juanfran's curling shot parried by the diving Gorka Iraizoz before Damia Abella fired in a rasping effort that just cleared the Athletic crossbar.

Neither side would come closer than those efforts in the remainder of regulation time, but there was to be a late twist in the tale as Gurpegi broke Osasuna hearts with his last-gasp winning header.