Almeria showed real character to come from behind and score a victory over Sporting Gijon.

Diego Castro gave the visitors the lead but Albert Crusat levelled the scores soon after and Domingo Cisma gave the hosts the lead shortly before half-time.

Santos Guilherme wrapped up the points with the third goal 10 minutes from time as Juan Manuel Lillo's side took advantage of a full-strength squad in a game of three dismissals.

The hosts had the game's first chance in the eighth minute - but Modeste M'Bami's left-footed effort from 25 yards was wide of the target.

However, Sporting got the chance to take the lead in the 12th minute when Alberto Rivera's shot was handled by Jose Chico.

The Almeria player was dismissed and Castro made no mistake from the spot to give the visitors the advantage.

Their lead did not last long though, as Crusat took a pass from Hernan Bernardello in the 15th minute and scored from 12 yards.

Sporting's Mate Bilic brought a good save out of Almeria goalkeeper Diego Alves in the 24th minute, then 10 minutes later the home side's M'Bami saw his right-footed effort from 20 yards go wide.

Almeria took the lead in the 42nd minute when Cisma scored spectacularly with a 30 yard free-kick, awarded after Roberto Canella had fouled Fernando Soriano.

Soriano was then wide with an attempt to increase the home side's advantage in first-half injury-time.

Sporting had the first chance of the second half, with Cristian Portilla's 54th-minute attempt testing Alves.

But both teams struggled to create much as the game approached the final quarter, with a series of substitutions doing little for fluency.

And the visitors' frustration boiled over in the closing stages as they had two players dismissed and conceded a third goal.

After playing for nearly 80 minutes with an extra player, Sporting lost the advantage when David Barral was dismissed for violent conduct.

Gulherme wrapped up the points from close range in the 81st minute following good work down the left by Cisma - and soon after Sporting's Arnolin Gregory was dismissed for foul and abusive language.

The home side could enjoy the closing stages and they came close to a fourth goal in the 87th minute through Michel, then in injury-time through Soriano.

The victory, Almeria's fourth in 10 home games, moves Lillo's men above Malaga and into 15th place in the table - just two points behind Sporting.

A fourth successive defeat - and sixth in 10 away games - means Manuel Preciado's Sporting side miss a chance to move back into the top half of the table.