SD Huesca went out of the Copa del Rey after having taken the game into extra-time and penalties. The Azulgranas had hit back twice in a good second half, but were unable to make it to the next round after a penalty shootout in which Torremolinos were better. Everyone in the team had warned in the different pre-match press conferences that it wouldn’t be easy, as many unexpected things can happen in Copa del Rey, since there is no easy rival. And so it proved this game at El Pozuelo.

With the atmosphere of the big days, Juventud Torremolinos felt a lot the support of their crowd from the early stages. The hosts were intense, looking to play in Huesca’s half. After having created danger in the opening exchanges, they were as good as gifted the opener 23 minutes into the first period. Javi López made the most of a counter-attack to make it 1-0, forcing Cuco’s men to row upstream in the tie. The Oscenses tried hard, but Torremolinos side were clinical in front of goal, doubling the advantage before the interval and proving themselves to be dangerous in the counter-attack.

After the break, Cuco Ziganda sought to make his side react by introducing Andrés Fernández – to replace an injured Miguel San Román –, Cristian Salvador and Marc Mateu. Huesca noticed that Torremolinos were getting tired, so they managed to show their best form in Malaga. After 51 minutes, Escriche cut the deficit thanks to a cross from Soko, which led to a turning point. Then, Carlos Kevin shot from the six-yard area, but the defence cleared the ball. After that, Escriche shot wide following a corner. Both of these chances could have made the Altoaragoneses level. However, it was Juan Villar – who had just entered the pitch – who found the net after Timor tucked the ball following a corner. This brought the tie level at 2-2, and although SD Huesca upped their attacking game after that and tried to put it to bed, Torremolinos were still dangerous in the counter-attack. Nevertheless, that sent the game into extra time.

The good news was Joaquín Muñoz’s return from injury, almost 90 days after. In fact, he enjoyed the best chance after finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but couldn’t find the net. Therefore, the match finished 2-2 again after extra-time, but Torremolinos edged the crucial penalty shootout 4-2, with Joaquín’s and Vilarrasa’s missed spot-kicks proving decisive. The Oscenses suffered a heart-breaking end to this Copa del Rey campaign on Sunday, and now have to think of LaLiga, which will lead them to Tenerife next Saturday.