Copa del Rey, round 2

Atlético Madrid are only the eighth side from the first division to qualify for the third round after a 0-1 win over Gimnastic Tarragona in the last match on Thursday evening. It could well have been another upset though, the Catalans creating several chances and taking the match into extra time before García Calvo struck the winner. The goal caused some controversy as the Nàstic players thought the referee should have blown his whistle earlier for a change of ends, and local manager Luis César Sampedro was shown a red card in the ensuing fracas. (11.11.04)

Another night of surprises in the second round of the cup on Wednesday, with seven more first division sides falling against lower division opposition, and others needing extra time and penalties to get through.

The biggest scalp of the night was without doubt off-form Deportivo La Coruña, who lost 1-0 at Elche, ex Rayo Vallecano striker Peragón getting the only goal of the game in the tenth minute. And Real Madrid only just made it into the third round, Solari striking the winner following a short free kick in the last minute of extra time to beat Tenerife 1-2. Fagiani had given the Canary Islanders the lead just before the break after Morientes had missed a penalty, but Solari equalised two minutes later, again from a free kick.

No less than four teams from the top flight lost to second division B clubs, including Real Sociedad. who were beaten 4-3 on penalties by Mirandés after drawing their match 0-0 in a heavy rainstorm which made conditions virtually unplayable. Local goalkeeper Treviño was the hero of the night, saving three spot kicks in the shoot out. Barcelona's conquerors Gramanet were at it again, this time coming from a goal down to win 2-1 against another side who wear "Blaugrana", Bernd Schuster's Levante.

The game was played on the home side's artificial pitch, as was the tie at Lanzarote, where the Canary Islanders also ran out 2-1 winners over Mallorca. And there was a sensational match at Lorca, where Málaga were two goals up and cruising before having Iznata and Amoroso sent off. The locals equalised in injury time, and a hat-trick from ex Barcelona B striker Perona in extra time left the nine men down and out.

Racing Santander took an early lead at Valladolid, but they lost 2-1 after the locals scored twice in three minutes after the break, and Albacete are also out after losing 1-0 at Recreativo, Moreno getting the only goal in extra time. Bottom club Numancia did scrape through though, beating their second division counterparts Córdoba 3-4 in the penalty shoot out after a 1-1 draw.

The two remaining Basque first division sides needed extra time to win their respective fixtures against second division B teams, Athletic Bilbao beating Cultural Leonesa 1-2 thanks to a late goal from Ezquerro, and Osasuna defeating Girona, a hotly disputed Muñoz penalty enough to take them through 0-1.

Getafe also had to wait until extra time to win through 1-2 against Pontevedra, all three goals coming in the thirty minutes added on. Which meant that the two Sevilla based sides were the only ones from the top flight to win their ties in the regulatory ninety minutes, goals from Oliveira and Cañas giving Betis a 0-2 win at Cádiz, and Carlitos and Antoñito scoring as Sevilla won 1-2 at Ciudad Murcia.

There was one all second division game as well, Lleida eventually running out 2-4 winners on penalties against Terrassa after the match ended 2-2. Both sides meet again in the league at the weekend. Their Catalan neighbours Nàstic wrap things up when they play Atlético Madrid tomorrow, and the competition takes a break then until the beginning of the new year, with ties from the third round onwards played over two legs. (10.11.04)