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Semi finals, second leg Match played on 11th May Athletic Bilbao 0 - Betis 0 (4-5 on penalty shoot out) Athletic: Lafuente;
Iraola, Lacruz, Luis Prieto, Casas (Del Horno 62'); Gurpegui, Orbaiz;
Etxeberría (Ezquerro 62'), Tiko, Yeste; Urzaiz (Llorente 97'). 4-2-3-1.
Goals: None. Penalties: 0-0. Del Horno (saved); 0-1. Marcos Assunçao; 1-1. Yeste; 1-1. Oliveira (over bar); 2-1. Tiko; 2-2. Joaquín; 3-2. Orbaiz; 3-3. Denilson; 4-3. Iraola; 4-4. Lembo; 4-4. Ezquerro (saved); 4-5. Luis Fernández. Betis are the first side through to the Spanish cup final after beating Athletic Bilbao in the penalty shoot out. Neither side was able to score in 210 minutes of football, the game at the San Mamés stadium finishing with the same result as the one a couple of weeks ago in Sevilla, and in the end the tie was decided by two penalty saves from Doblas. Curiously, the one and only time Betis won the cup was back in 1977, when they also beat Bilbao on penalties. The game got off to a cautious start, with neither side making much impact on the opposing defence until Lafuente made a spectacular save from an equally spectacular volley by Melli following a corner just before the break. Proceedings were halted for ten minutes or so almost immediately after the restart for a partial floodlight failure, and when things got going again Yeste fired a shot just over the bar. Valverde made two changes on the hour mark, and it appeared to have been a great decision when two minutes later Megía Davila pointed to the spot after one of the substitutes Ezquerro was brought down by Juanito on the edge of the area. However the referee changed his decision to a free kick outside of the area after consulting with his linesman. Soon afterwards Doblas made a double save from Yeste and Ezquerro after good work by Orbaiz, and Betis counter-attacked, with Oliveira touching a Joaquín cross just wide and then forcing a good save out of Lafuente. The best chances in normal time though fell to the home side, Urzaiz heading a corner just over the bar and Ezquerro heading Tiko's cross wide with the goal at his mercy. Soon afterwards the game went in to extra time, and Oliveira could have won it when he headed Assunçao's free kick against the bar. But the Andalusians were lucky to be let off the hook when Ezquerro's shot hit Juanito on the arm, Megia turning down appeals for a penalty. With extra time coming to an end the visitors were left with ten men when Juanito was sent off for a second bookable offence (meaning he will miss the final), and Serra Ferrer brought on Lembo to cover for the last two minutes. Inevitably though the game went to penalties, with Doblas saving Del Horno's first kick. Oliveira fired his shot over the bar two later, but Doblas finally beat out Ezquerro's effort and Luis Fernández converted the next kick to take their side through to their first final since 1997. Match played on 12th May Atlético Madrid 0 - Osasuna 0 Atlético: Leo
Franco; Perea, Pablo, García Calvo (Aguilera 70'); Velasco, Luccin,
Colsa, Antonio López; Richard Nuñez (Salva 46'), Ibagaza;
Fernando Torres. 3-4-2-1. Goals: None. Osasuna join Betis in next month's Spanish cup final after holding Atlético Madrid to a scoreless draw in their second leg match. In what must surely be the lowest scoring semi-finals ever in the Copa del Rey, the Pamplona based side took advantage of the one goal advantage from the first leg to defend their lead and go through to the final for the first time in their history. The Calderón stadium was full to bursting, but with their side needing two goals to win, the fans were surprised to see that César Ferrando lined up with three central defenders and only Ibagaza, Richard Nuñez and Fernando Torres with attacking duties. Nuñez did bring a good save out of Elía around the quarter hour mark, but otherwise they were ineffective against a well organized and at times hard defence, and Leo Franco was forced to deal with a dangerous Pablo García free kick before the break. Ferrando brought on Salva for Nuñez at the break but he didn't change his formation at first. Elía did well to stop a couple of efforts from Antonio López, but Webó could have put the Pamplona based side further ahead in the tie when he got free on right of goal but chose to try and pass to Morales rather than shoot himself. Atlético finally woke up to the fact that they were playing a cup final, but a tired Fernando Torres was unable to find any support, and the only real chance at goal later on came when Elía kept out a header from Colsa. The visitors had got what they came for, and it is they rather than Ferrando's side who play Betis in next month's final. The defeat virtually ensures that the coach will not be staying on for next season, and their hopes of European football next season have all but disappeared. Osasuna could be in the UEFA cup next season, and may already be sure of a place by the time the final comes around if Betis finish in the Champions League spots in the league. Should Betis end the season in fifth or sixth spot though, Aguirre's side will have to win the cup to qualify as, under the vagaries of the Federation rules, the final UEFA cup place would then go to the league's seventh placed side if Betis ended as cup champions. It will all be made clear a month from now. |
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