Espanyol knocks Ponferradina down on penalties

Espanyol, who had faced their first game of the year with a goal at four minutes, saw how they were twisted four minutes from the end for a penalty that, had there been VAR, would have been annulled. The extension did not resolve the pulse, but Diego Lopez he confirmed the round cup pass with two stops in the penalty shoot-out.

One Adrià Pedrosa very active in the opening stages in Ponferrada, he opened the scoring with an early goal. The left side took advantage of the good movement of Raúl de Tomás, which attracted all the attention of the local defense before serving the assistance, to strike with a shot close to the post.

Duel of old rockers

It seemed that the most difficult thing had already been done and from there the block of Vicente Moreno he dedicated himself to trying to keep his frame to zero, with Diego López waging a duel of old rockers to Yuri. At 39 years old, Ponferradina’s all-time top scorer remains the greatest local threat, even more so after the injury of Sergi Enrich, injured in a clash with the blue and white goalkeeper. The veteran goalkeeper hardly struggled in the first half.

After the restart Javi Puado, who revolutionized the game at Mestalla, brushed 0-2 with a whip at the first touch. The local team tried to climb lines and look further into the parakeet cage, but without disturbing beyond with distant and isolated shots during the first hour of play. Until Diego López had to intervene twice in just one minute to repel two local occasions, especially a one-on-one with José Naranjo.

Espanyol, comfortable until then, began to look with a little more interest for the second goal to avoid scares. RDT had it with a quick counter but the local goalkeeper repelled his cross shot, the clearest occasion perica in the second half. The Blue and White striker went to the bench shortly after, leaving his place to Dimata, who from then on had the best Blue and White chances, although the goal came in the other area.

Related news

Four minutes from the end, Yuri, who started offside, was knocked down in the area by Sergi Gómez. As there is no VAR in this round, the referee did not correct his mistake and the veteran Brazilian striker beat Diego López. Yuri, after scoring the tie, saved under the sticks a header from Dimata that would have prevented extra time.

In overtime there was only the red color of Espanyol and only one name: Dimata. But the striker, despite enjoying almost all the chances of extra time, could not beat Sergi Puig. The goalkeepers were to decide the fate of the tie. Diego López, 17 years older than the local goal, stopped Kuki Zalazar second and Saverio the fourth and final.