Copa del
Rey, round 2
A goal in extra time from
Raúl gave Real Madrid a thrilling 3-4 win over
Leganés. Carlos Queiroz rested Zidane and Figo and left Ronaldo
on the bench, but it looked as if they were on the way to an easy win after
Beckham squeezed a free kick past Leyenda and then Raúl made it two
after the keeper could only push out a shot from the England captain. However
some sloppy defending allowed Borja to score twice before the break to level
the scores, and the second division side took the lead soon after the restart
when Pavón put through his own net. But Solari equalised two minutes
from the end to take the game into extra time, and Raúl connected with a
Roberto Carlos cross to back-heel the ball into the net and give his side a
place in tomorrow's third round draw. (18.12.03)
Another eleven matches in
the Spanish cup were played on Wednesday night, with few surprises once again.
The biggest shock without doubt though was the elimination of reigning
champions Mallorca, who were beaten 2-0 by second division side
Levante. Aganzo got a goal in each half to take the Valencia based side
through to Friday's draw.
Only one other first
division side lost to lower level opposition, Racing Santander getting
knocked out by Eibar in the penalty shoot out after drawing 0-0 in the
match. Bodipo missed the last kick to round off a bad week for the Cantabrians
in which they were docked a point by the disciplinary committee for fielding
too many non-EU players against Osasuna.
And talking of
Osasuna, they only just made it through after scoring twice in the last
two minutes of the game to beat Cádiz 1-2. Pavoni had put the
Andalucians ahead on the stroke of half time, and it looked like they were
going through before the referee awarded a hotly disputed penalty with the game
almost at an end. Aloisi converted the kick, and Webó got a second goal
a minute later to wrap things up.
One other first division
side was eliminated, Real Murcia losing 2-0 at Valencia in one of
only two all-first-division clashes. Although Rafa Benítez put out a
side with many reserve players they had no problems going through, Xisco
opening the scoring early on and Garrido getting his first goal for the club in
the second half. This was the first time that Valencia have reached the third
round in four years.
For once the big sides made
it through the first two rounds without too many problems, Barcelona for
example beating Ciudad de Murcia 0-4. Saviola opened the scoring for the
Blaugrana midway through the first half from Ronaldinho's pass, and Overmars
scored twice after the break before Ronaldinho finished things off from the
penalty spot.
Deportivo La
Coruña had few problems as well beating second division B side
Gimnastica Torrelavega, although the 1-2 scoreline flattered the local
side. Pablo Amo headed the visitors in front on the stroke of half time and
Munitis got a second after the break before Loza got a late consolation goal
for the home side. And Amavisca missed a penalty before the end of the game
which would have given the Galicians a bigger win.
Penalties featured heavily
in Málaga's 0-1 win over Xerez, Salva scoring one in the
second half to give his side the victory but having another saved by local
keeper Doblas before the end of the match. It was fitting revenge for the South
coast side though, who were knocked out of the cup by their neighbours last
season.
The regionalized draw threw
together one other Andalucian derby, Betis earning manager Víctor
Fernández a breather after coming from behind to beat
Córdoba 1-3. The second division side dominated the early
minutes, and Norway's Crister George opened the scoring for them on the half
hour mark. But Dani turned the scoreline around with a goal either side of half
time, and Fernando rounded things off with a third in injury time.
Betis's neighbours
Sevilla had to travel to the Canary Islands though for their game, the
match against Lanzarote being switched to Las Palmas after the
Andalucians refused to play on the home side's artificial pitch. The second
division B side hit the bar early on, but Baptista scored soon afterwards and
keeper Esteban did the rest. Lazarote ended with nine men after Sergio and
Aitor were sent off near the end.
The high number of second
division sides from Andalucia meant that some of them had to play against teams
from other parts of Spain. High flying Almería met their match
though when they lost 1-3 to Valladolid, who were never really in
trouble after Oscar opened the scoring early in the second half. Lozano levveld
the scores momentarily, but a minute later Pachón restored the lead, and
Oscar got his second of the night right at the end for the final scoreline.
One first division side who
did have problems though was Zaragoza, and it took a freak goal from
Galletti late in extra time to defeat Salamanca 2-3. Paco Flores's side
were up against with a quarter of an hour gone when Ferrón gave away a
penalty and got himself sent off for handling in the area. But Joeano put his
kick over the bar, and before the break Villa and Iñaki put the visitors
two up. Raúl Gañan and Tuni made it all square in the second half
though before Galletti struck. (17.12.03)
With European competitions
shelved for the next three months, it was the turn of the Spanish cup to return
to the scene. Four ties were brought forward to Tuesday, with the all first
division match between Celta and Espanyol kicking things off.
Jandro put the Galicians ahead before the break, and although Alex
Fernández levelled the scores from a free kick in the second half, goals
late on from Jesuli and Milosevic took Lotina's side through 3-1, a result
which takes some of the pressure off the manager.
The result at least leaves
Espanyol free to concentrate on getting out of the bottom spots in the league,
a sentiment which was obviously shared by Real Sociedad's Reynald
Denoueix. He fielded a side made up of reserves and youngsters against
Alavés, and paid the price with a 2-1 defeat. For a while though
it looked as if Mikel Alonso's first half headed goal would see them through,
but two strikes in the last ten minutes from Rubén Navarro and Kiko
turned the score around. And it could have been worse had Alberto not saved a
late Rubén Navarro penalty.
As usual the first division
sides struggled at the grounds of lower division opposition, and it took a last
minute goal from Fernando Torres to take Atlético Madrid through
0-1 against second division B side Cultural Leonesa. Gregorio Manzano
wasn't taking any chances and put out a strong line up, but even though Nano
and Fernando Torres hit the woodwork either side of half time, the locals put
up a good fight.
Villarreal also went
through by the same score against the second division's bottom club
Algeciras. The only goal came midway through the first half when
Ballesteros headed home Riquelme's free kick, and after that Benito Floro
ordered his men to sit back and defend their lead. José Marí did
hit the post after the interval, but there were a nervous few moments before
the referee blew the final whistle. (16.12.03) |