Utrillas, Arenteiro, Cartagena, Atlético Baleares, Cádiz and Athletic, stones on the way of the Valencianistas towards a new Cup final
MADRID, 23 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Valencia will play their 18th Copa del Rey final this Saturday, the last since 2019, when they beat FC Barcelona in the Benito Villamarín final. In this edition, it was not until the quarterfinals that a ‘First’ was found, although in the first rounds they suffered quite a bit against lower category teams, with Athletic as the last stone on the road to now be on the verge of achieving his ninth Cup title.
After a campaign without achieving an outstanding classification in LaLiga Santander, Bordalás’ men did not fail in their journey in the Cup, which became the greatest illusion for the fans and the squad. It was on December 2 of last year when he kicked off the CD Utrillas cold knockout tournament, a team from the preferred Aragonese team against which he would achieve his only comfortable victory. Marcos André, Yunus Musah and Koba converted the winning goals (0-3) to advance in the tournament.
In the second round, CD Arenteiro, a team from Ourense in the Second RFEF, was waiting. Despite being much superior, Valencia did not have an easy night and saw how the match gradually became more complicated, unable to close a duel with ‘che’ advantage from the first minute of play thanks to a goal from Musah. The locals equalized minutes later and were able to resist until extra time. In extra time, Valencia’s power and experience prevailed with goals from Guillamón and Vallejo to sentence the tie (1-3).
The team struggled to advance to the round and also did so in the round of 32. With Cartagena from LaLiga SmartBank as a rival, the ‘bat’ team did not certify their advance until the last moments, thanks to a goal in the 92nd minute from Cheryshev. Before, Valencia went ahead with a goal by Carlos Soler from a free kick, which Ortuño equalized, from a penalty, in the 75th minute, and which left one of the images of the Cup, with Jaume Domenech challenging the shooter waiting for the throw on his knees on the goal line.
In the round of 16, Valencia did not have to wait for the last seconds to score the final goal. In a round in which potential candidates for the title such as Atlético, Sevilla or Barça were eliminated, the Valencianistas faced Atlético Baleares, a First RFEF team. Marcos André’s goal in the first minute of play was the one that dominated the scoreboard throughout the match and allowed Valencia to stay alive in the Cup.
In the quarterfinals they beat the first team of the First Division. The rival would be Cádiz, although on this occasion, for the first time in this edition, the Mestalla would be the scene of the tie. Gonçalo Guedes struck the first blow in the match beating David Gil before the break, leaving the match on track against, once again, an inferior rival.
But the people from Cadiz reacted and in the second half managed to tie the match (1-1) with a goal from Lucas Pérez, which caused the ‘run run’ in the demanding Mestalla stands. But Hugo Duro appeared, a striker who would begin to enjoy many more minutes from this match on, to make the final 2-1 with 10 minutes remaining in the duel.
Already in the two-leg matchup in the semifinals, Valencia found the last obstacle to be the first rival with a higher position in the table, Marcelino’s Athletic Club, the coach who had led them to the conquest of the title in 2019. ‘Leones’ were the first major threat to ‘che”s goal of returning to a final after his title in 2019, more so after having been the ‘giant killer’ of the KO tournament, eliminating FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the previous rounds .
In the first ’round’ in San Mamés, Valencia came out alive thanks to a 1-1 scoreline at the end of 90 minutes, with a goal from a plugged-in Hugo Duro, who equaled Raúl García’s in the final stretch of the first half. With everything to be resolved in the second leg, Mestalla was the judge of the tie, which ended up falling on the side of Bordalás thanks to a goal on the brink of rest by Guedes, a Valencian hero. This goal knocked down the Biscayan team and allowed Valencia to fight for its ninth cup title in the final this Saturday at La Cartuja.