OM lose again Alcoyano upset Madrid in Copa SOCCER
MADRID, Jan 21, (AP):Thirddivision club Alcoyano came from behind to eliminate Real Madrid 2-1 in the round of 32 of the Copa de Rey.
The small club from eastern Spain scored in the 80th minute to force extra time and again in the 115th to make it to
the last 16.
Alcoyano had gone a man down because of a red card just minutes before Juanan Casanova scored the winner from close range after a quick counterattack.
Based in eastern Spanish city of Alcoy, the small club of Alcoyano made it to the Copa quarterfinals in 1946. It has played four seasons in the first division, but not since 1950-51.
Madrid were seeking their first Copa title since 2014, which was the last time theyreached the final. They were eliminated by Zaragoza in the round of 16 last season.They hadn’t been eliminated in the round of 32 since they lost to Cádiz in 2015-16.
Madrid continued to struggle to create scoring opportunities and the hosts eventually found the equalizer with a close-range shot by José Solbes after a corner kick.
Alcoyano threatened again before the end of regulation and in extra time, but it went a man down in the 109th minte when Ramón López was sent off with a second yellow card for a hard tackle on Casemiro.
The winner by Casanova came after a missed chance by Madrid off a corner kick.
Alcoyano goalkeeper José Juan Figueras, 41, had to make a couple of key saves to keep Madrid from recovering.
The game was played at the 5,000-capacity El Collao Stadium, which was without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier, Real Sociedad eliminated third-division club Córdoba 2-0 with a pair of second-half goals by William José, the Brazilian forward who was expected to seal a move to English club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Last season’s Copa final between Sociedad and Basque Country rivals Athletic Bilbao has yet to be played after being postponed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the Spanish league, Villarreal regained fourth place after drawing 2-2 with seventhplace Granada at home.
The visitors took the lead Roberto Soldado in the 21st before Villarreal rallied with goals by Rubén Peña in the 29th and Moi Gómez in the 65th. Kenedy equalized for Granada in the 75th and Villarreal striker Paco Alcácer missed a chance to score the winner by missing a penalty in stoppage time.
Villarreal had won four consecutive games in all competitions.