Soccer-Celta scrape through to second round of King's Cup ( 2003-10-09 09:38) (Agencies)
Celta Vigo came from a goal behind and a man down to scrape a 5-4 penalty
shoot-out victory against third division Pontevedra in the first round of the
King's Cup on Wednesday.
Holders Real Mallorca, who won the competition so convincingly last
season, put their league worries behind them and got the defence of their crown
off to a promising start with a 4-2 win over Sabadell.
Uruguayan midfielder Martin Liguera put the islanders ahead after just
three minutes and former Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Correa grabbed a
well-taken hat-trick as they powered past their third division opponents.
A nervous-looking Atletico Madrid rode their luck to edge a 3-2 win
against third division Conquense, Brazilian forward Rodrigo Fabri scoring two of
his side's three goals.
Last season's Primera Liga runners-up Real Sociedad also had problems
against fourth division Real Oviedo and only managed to edge a 2-1 victory when
midfielder Igor Gabilondo scored a last gasp winner two minutes into injury
time.
Real Betis had no such difficulties when they eased their way to a
comfortable 4-1 win over Badajoz, while Javier Clemente's Espanyol recorded
their first win of the season with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over second
division Elche.
Celta, who are playing in the Champions League this season, fell behind
to their Galician neighbours after just six minutes and although they managed to
level the scores when midfielder Jandro scored before the break they were never
able to settle against their lower ranked opponents.
FURTHER SETBACK
The first division side suffered a further setback when defender Pablo
Contreras was sent off late in the second half and they had to endure 30 minutes
of extra time with a man down as Pontevedra pushed forward in search of the
winner.
Keeper Jose Manuel Pinto, however, came to their rescue when he pulled
off a fine save in the penalty shoot-out to deny Pontevedra and defender
Juanfran netted his team's fifth spotkick to give the visitors a nail-biting
victory.
Tuesday's games were marred by violent incidents that resulted in the
death of one fan and the suspension of a tie after the referee was injured by an
object thrown from the crowd.
Deportivo Coruna fan Manuel Rios Suarez died from injuries sustained when he
was attacked after watching his side beat Galician rivals Santiago Compostela
1-0.
In a separate incident referee Jesus Tellez Sanchez suspended the tie
between Castellon and Valencia when he was hit by a mobile phone battery thrown
from the crowd when he awarded a penalty in favour of the visitors with the
score at 1-1.
Third division Gimnastica Torrelavega sprung the surprise of the night
with a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao, while a number of other top flight
sides were pushed hard by lower ranked opposition.
Barcelona made it past the first round for the first time in three
attempts with a narrow 1-0 win over Gramanet while Real Madrid had fewer
problems claiming their 3-0 win over third division side San Sebastian de los
Reyes
