Girona had lost their last three away days across all competitions but began on an attacking front foot, as Bojan Miovski fired two quick-fire efforts wide of the target.
At the other end, relegation-threatened Espanyol needed until the 25th-minute mark to call Paulo Gazzaniga into his first save of the evening, with top-scorer Javi Puado forcing the former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper into a splendid reflex stop.
Gazzaniga and Puado were at their respective battle stations again shortly after the half-hour mark, as Girona’s stopper came out on top again by somehow redirecting Los Periquitos' captain’s fierce effort from inside the area over the bar with only the palms of his fingertips.
With the first half ending goalless, it did not take very long for the complexion of the contest to turn in favour of Espanyol within four minutes of the restart.
Beginning in their half, a clinical counter-attacking move culminated with Jofre's sublime strike that flew straight past Gazzaniga into the bottom corner.
With the deadlock broken, Alex Kral came close to doubling Espanyol’s lead in the 63rd minute, but on this occasion, Gazzaniga was up to the task as he expertly redirected the ball away from any further danger.
With Espanyol looking set for a much-needed three points in their ongoing battle against an immediate return to LaLiga 2, heartbreak occurred for the hosts in the 86th minute as substitute Stuani confidently slotted home from the penalty spot after Viktor Tsygankov had smartly drawn a foul out of Urko Gonzalez de Zarate.
A less-than-ideal loss of two points sees Manolo González’s side remain in 15th position, while Girona look unlikely that they will qualify for Europe again next season with Míchel’s men trailing the top six now by eight points.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jofre Carreras (Espanyol)