Third round second leg

The second leg matches took place on 16th and 17th January. Results were as follows (first leg scores in brackets, teams qualifying for next round in bold, aet = after extra time, pp = after penalty shoot out):

The second leg matches kicked off on Tuesday night, with Barcelona playing Gimnastica Torrelavega of the second division B at an almost empty Nou Camp stadium. On paper this should have been a walk over for Barcelona who held a one goal lead from the first leg, but it didn't turn out that way. Despite putting out a strong side, Barcelona were unable to break down the well organised defence, and Bermejo almost levelled the scores on aggregate with a shot which hit the inside of the post and rolled across the goal in the first half. Frank De Boer and Gerard also hit the woodwork for the home side, but Reina had to save from Bermejo, and Chili wasted another chance near the end as the Cantabrian side, who had already eliminated two first division sides Alavés and Las Palmas, threw everything forward. In the end Serra Ferrer's men were relieved to hear the final whistle, although that was followed by whistles from their unhappy supporters immediately afterwards.

Five more first division teams qualified for the quarter finals of the Spanish cup on Wednesday night, together with one from the second division A and one from the second division B. Cup holders Espanyol beat Extremadura with a late Galca penalty in a match which new signing Nishizawa made his home debut and Pochettino and Toledo were suspended from the first leg. With a 1-1 scoreline from that match, a 0-0 result would have been enough, but referee Undiano Mallenco awarded a controversial penalty seven minutes from time after Cortés handled on the line. The defender claimed it was accidental, but the referee sent him off and Galca converted the spot kick to take them through. Zaragoza gave Murcia no chance with a 4-1 victory, with goals from Jamelli and Ferrón in the first half and two from on-form José Ignacio in the second, with new signing Rolando Zárate (curiously wearing the number 1 shirt) pulling one back for the visitors in between. Zaragoza had already won the first leg 2-3 in a controversial match which saw referee Esquinas Torres leave the pitch under a hail of missiles, and Murcia's ground has been closed for one game by the disciplinary committee as a result.

Two goals too for Carlos as Mallorca defeated Tenerife 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate. Carlos could have got his hat-trick when he won a penalty late in the second half, but after an argument between him and Stankovic as to who should take the kick, manager Luis Aragonés appointed the Yugoslav. However his penalty was ironically saved by the Tenerife keeper Ibrahim. Mono Burgos made his reappearance in goal for the home side for the first game in over a year. Celta's awful run of form continued, but they scraped through to the quarter finals despite losing 0-1 at home to Leganés, going through on the away goals rule thanks to a 1-2 result in the first leg. Makukula scrambled the goal for the visitors in the second half after hitting the post earlier. The other first division side to qualify were Racing Santander, who held on to a 0-0 draw at Bilbao to go through thanks to their 2-0 victory in the first leg.

Last year's runners up Atlético Madrid were the only second division A side to go through after beating first division neighbours Rayo Vallecano 0-2, with goals from Salva in the first half and Kiko in the second, his first of the season. They should have sealed it in the first leg when Salva gave them a two goal lead, but Rayo came back then to draw at 2-2. This time though there was no mistake, although Rayo claimed two penalties late on for fouls on Bolic and Cembranos. The anecdote of the match was a 20 minute power cut, which happened just as referee Pérez Burrull was tossing the coin up to choose ends. History doesn't relate whether he found the coin. Salva's goal makes him top scorer in the competition with four, and he also leads the goalscorers chart in the second division. In the all second division B derby, Granada beat their neighbours Guadix 5-4 on penalties after neither side could score in 210 minutes of football. The home side Granada were reduced to ten men near the end of ordinary time when Gonzalo was sent off, but hung on to take the game to the shoot out. Both sides had beaten first division opposition in the last round at the penalty stage, with Gaudix beating Valencia and Granada defeating Villarreal, so they had plenty of experience. Controversy raged when Granada's first kick was tipped up on to the bar by the keeper, dropping to the ground and bouncing back into the net, the referee awarding a goal. Gaudix claimed it shouldn't have counted and there was a ten minute delay later on as they refused to continue, but eventually things calmed down and they carried on, only to miss the next kick.

The draw for the next round takes place on Friday 19th, with games to be played over two legs on or around 31st January and 7th February. If they don't change the rules again, Barcelona, Espanyol, Zaragoza and Celta will be seeded, and second division teams will play the first leg games at home.