Fourth round, first leg

First division clubs finally entered the fray in the fourth round, with three games kicking off on Tuesday night. Barcelona beat second division B side Alcoyano 0-3 to take some of the pressure off coach Frank Rijkaard, although they only wrapped things up late on after their opponents had been left with nine men. Henry put them in front midway through the first half after Xavi played on Gudjohnsen's pass, and half time substitute Bojan hit the bar before Gudjohnsen converted a late penalty after a defender handled in the area. Baixauli had been sent off for a second bookable offence shortly before, and Carrión (who had already taken out Giovani) followed him down the tunnel after a bad tackle on Bojan. The youngster picked himself up though to turn in Xavi's cross in injury time to virtually seal the tie.

Cup holders Sevilla were unable to do more than draw 1-1 against a Denia side who are next to bottom of their 2B regional group. A side with several changes were unable to make much headway in the first half, and Hinkel had to clear off the line from Barba after the restart. Manuel Jiménez brought on Chevantón, and the striker staked his claim for more first team football, hitting the woodwork with a spectacular overhead kick before getting on the end of a Jesús Navas cross to open the scoring with a quarter of an hour to go. Pablo Vidal headed the equaliser from a corner though a couple of minutes later, and there were some nervous moments before the final whistle.

Athletic Bilbao were held to a 2-2 draw by Hércules, who were two up with just over half an hour gone after Llera headed home Javi González's long free kick and Cámara drove a long shot past Gorka. Referee Muñiz Fernández sent off Sendoa before the break though, and local coach Andoni Goikoetxea was also shown a red card for protesting the decision rather too vehemently. And Athletic took advantage to level the scores with two in five minutes towards the end of the second half, Yeste setting up Del Horno for him to lay the ball into the path of Llorente, and then floating in another cross which Del Horno volleyed first time into the net. (13.11.07)

Six more cup games on Wednesday, with the surprise of the round so far being Pontevedra's 1-0 win over Zaragoza. The second division B side packed their defence, and although the visitors had most of the play they only came close when Zapater headed against the bar later on in the first half. Víctor sent a warning shot over the bar after the restart, and with seven minutes to go the midfielder got on the end of Xavi Moré's cross to beat López Vallejo and send the local fans wild. Another disappointment for Zaragoza after being knocked out of the UEFA cup in the first round, although they still have a chance to overturn the result in the second leg at the beginning of January.

Villarreal didn't slip up though, a 2-4 win against the second division's bottom side Las Palmas giving them a foot in the next round. It was not plain sailing however, despite going two up early on after Guille Franco picked up a return pass from Angel to lob Pindado and then Pires repeated the act. However the lead was cancelled out by goals either side of half time by twins Sergio and Francis Suárez, the first from the penalty spot after Josemi brought Sergio down, and the second with an angled shot. Pindado saved a Guille Franco penalty a few minutes later, but the Canary Islanders had David García sent off for a second bookable offence with seven minutes to go. And Villarreal took advantage to put the game beyond the reach of their hosts with late goals from Bruno and Guille Franco, the first after an initial effort was blocked and the second after Pires set him up.

Second division leaders Málaga came in to their tie against Racing Santander looking to keep a clean sheet, and although they achieved their objective they were unable to do more than draw 0-0. Both sides made several changes to their line ups and it took them some time to get going, the best chances before the break falling to the visitors. Arnau kept out Tchité a couple of times though, and the Congolese striker also failed to convert two or three chances after the restart which would have given his side the advantage for the second leg.

Further down the road neighbours Xerez and Recreativo Huelva met, with the first division side running out 0-1 winners thanks to a goal from Marquitos three minutes from the end. The on-loan Villarreal winger fired the ball into the net after Porato could only block an effort from Rosu, giving Víctor Muñoz's side their second one goal victory in a row after a long period without scoring a goal. The two clubs have agreed to bring forward the second leg to 19th December, when some of the remaining first leg ties will be taking place.

There were two all first division fixtures, with Levante repeating their only league win to date by beating Almería 2-1. The team's poor position in the league, plus the fact that the local television station were showing the match, resulted in a crowd of only 400 fans at the Ciudad de Valencia stadium. They were entertained early on though when Riga opened the scoring in the third minute on the counter-attack, and the Dutch midfielder got his second of the night with a spectacular shot past Diego Alves two minutes before half time. Natalio equalised temporarily for the visitors in between, but the sending off of Cabrera soon afterwards upset their plans.

Elsewhere honours were shared between Valladolid and Murcia in a 1-1 draw. An active Estoyanoff hit the post for the home side before the interval, but Baiano connected with a De Lucas cross to put the visitors ahead in the first minute of the second half. Borja missed a good chance to equalise soon afterwards, but a few minutes later Camacho latched on to a loose ball to level the scores. (14.11.07)

The extended fourth round of the cup continued on Wednesday 12th December, with four more first leg matches squeezed in to the top clubs' busy agendas. Atlético Madrid took a big step towards reaching the last sixteen after a 1-2 win at Granada 74. Diego Forlán and Mista got the goals for Javier Aguirre's side a minute either side of half time, the former after Raúl García set him up and the latter after connecting with a cross from Simao. But ex Atlético midfielder Luque came on to pull one back from a well struck free kick a few minutes later, and visiting keeper Falcón had to save from Fragoso in the final minutes to keep his side ahead.

Last season's cup runners up Getafe also recorded a 0-1 victory against second division B side Burgos. Braulio set up strike partner Kepa for the only goal with just under a quarter of an hour gone. But although the locals put out a depleted side, they gave their first division opponents a run for their money. Prest tested Ustari before the half time whistle, and Trigo and Pedro García also caused some problems for the visitors. But Michael Laudrup's side defended the lead to the end despite having Contra sent off for a second bookable offence near the end.

Betis could only draw their first leg match 1-1 at Elche, and it could have been worse had Pere Martí not missed a penalty for the locals shortly before half time after Somoza had fouled Raúl Martín. David Vidal's side had dominated early on, with Casto having to save from Cobo and Raúl Martín, and Cobo had given them the lead after Pere Martí set him up with just under half an hour on the clock. Pavone took advantage of a defensive mistake by Samuel to equalise for the Andalusians midway through the second half, but Raúl Martín wasted a couple of chances to restore the lead towards the end.

There was one all first division fixture, with Osasuna running out 2-0 victors over Mallorca to clock up their first home win in over two months. Both goals came in the first twenty minutes, with Pandiani turning in Juanfran's cross with twelve minutes gone and Miguel Flaño getting on the end of Hugo Viana's wide free kick to score the second soon afterwards. The visitors only troubled Elía once before the break from a Ramis header, although the local keeper prevented an important away goal when he saved from substitute Trejo with a few minutes left to go. (12.12.07)

The last three matches of the fourth round first leg took place tonight, almost one month after the opening games. Real Madrid were in action against Alicante, and Bernd Schuster used the opportunity to give a run out to his lesser used players. However they came within seconds of defeat, substitute Balboa heading a last minute goal from Gago's corner to make it 1-1. The second division B side began well motivated, and they took a deserved lead when Borja beat Dudek from the penalty spot after Drenthe had fouled Alvaro with an hour on the clock. Local keeper Ricardo made good saves from Balboa, Saviola and Miguel Torres, and the home fans were celebrating a historic victory before Balboa spoilt their day.

There was much interest as well in Valencia's game at 2B side Real Unión after Ronaldo Koeman had told Cañizares, Albelda and Angulo they were no longer welcome at the club. In the end though it was forgotten man Zigic who saved the day, the Serbian striker scoring twice after the restart to give them a 1-2 victory. After early chances from Arizmendi and Silva had gone begging, the Basque team took the lead when Sergio Francisco beat Mora in the eleventh minute (referee Teixeira Vitienes curiously awarding the goal to Goikoetxea, a non-playing substitute, after a major confusion over shirt numbers!). Sergio and Seguro could have added to the scoreline, but Zigic came on to equalise with the Chés' first goal in over ten hours of football. And ten minutes later the Serbian striker got his second of the night to stake a claim for a place in Koeman's future plans.

There was one more all first division fixture as well between Espanyol and Deportivo, where honours were shared in a 1-1 draw. The visitors had the better of the match, and Juan Rodríguez had a goal controversially disallowed by referee Delgado Ferreira for the positional offside of a colleague before Sergio beat Lafuente with a long free kick on the half hour mark, the ex Espanyol midfielder not celebrating the strike out of respect for his old fans. Only a couple of efforts from Lola had tested Munúa, but Valverde brought on Tamudo and the team captain set up Corominas to equalise with three minutes to go. (19.12.07)