La Coruna (Spain): Spanish Second-division football side Mirandes embarrassed Deportivo La Coruna 3-0 here in the second leg of their Copa del Rey clash to advance 4-1 on aggregate, while Sevilla sailed past cross-town rival Real Betis to claim their berth in the quarter-finals. Fans at La Coruna’s Riazor stadium on Tuesday saw their team lose a third consecutive match, this time to a club from the second rank of Spanish soccer, reports Efe.
Mirandes, who eliminated La Liga side Malaga in a previous round, seem to be following the same path that led them to the Copa semi-finals in 2011-2012. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Mirandes left no doubt that they were going for the win on Tuesday, pinning Deportivo deep in their own zone with a high press.
The visitors, meanwhile, had little problem bringing the ball across the centre line, but struggled to create opportunities until the 41st minute, when Daniel Provencio’s shot from the edge of the area rolled to the right of Deportivo goalkeeper to make it 1-0 for Mirandes.
Needing a goal to force overtime, Deportivo made two half-time substitutions and showed more life in the opening minutes of the second period. Deportivo’s hopes ended, however, when Abdon converted a free kick in the 55th minute to double the lead for Mirandes, who sealed the win with Provencio’s second goal of the night in the 71st minute.
Sevilla clobbered stumbling Betis 4-0 in Tuesday’s other contest to dispatch their city neighbours 6-0 on aggregate. Despite having won the first leg away 2-0, Sevilla coach Unai Emery left nothing to chance, fielding a strong starting 11 to ensure the quarter-final berth.
Jose Antonio Reyes opened the scoring for Sevilla with a header from close range in the fourth minute. Betis battled back, but never really troubled a Sevilla side that was ever alert for the chance to counter-attack. An unmarked Adil Rami scored the second goal for Sevilla 30 minutes later, knocking in a loose ball after a corner.
Sevilla seemed to take their foot off the pedal in the second half and Betis began to see a lot more of the ball and generate chances, but none of them turned into goals. Kevin Gameiro pushed Sevilla’s advantage to 3-0 in the 73rd minute — seconds after coming on as a sub — and Gaal Kakuta added the fourth 16 minutes later.
