+1
Oh, poor Mirandes. They tried to play with Athletic Bilbao and made their tie fun, but ultimately took a beating at La Catedral.
Giant-killers Mirandes will have quite a hole to overcome as they travel to Athletico Bilbao having been beaten 2-1 at home int he first leg of their Copa Del Rey semifinal matchup. Fernando Llorente got a first-half brace to seemingly kill off the minnows once and for all, but substitute Ander Lambarri pulled one back in the 90th minute to make things look a little better for Mirandes. Yes, they have to win by two goals at La Catedral, but considering that the Segunda Division B side have overcome Villarreal, Racing Santander and Espanyol in getting this far, who are we to rule out another miracle?
Ok, it doesn't seem particularly likely that Pablo Infante* and company will be able to overcome Marcelo Bielsa's team, but that's what makes cup runs special. Athletic know full well that Mirandes are more that capable of springing a shock result, and will be looking to kill them off quickly at home. An early goal from the visitors, improbably as it may be, would make things incredibly interesting. This is the stuff legends are made of.
*If someone could explain just how a 31-year-old winger from a Segunda Division B side is the top scorer in the Copa del Rey, that would be super.
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, February 7, 4:00 p.m. ET, 10:00 p.m. local
Venue: San Mames, Bilbao, Spain.
TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Sky Sports 2 (UK)
Online: ESPN3
Athletic Bilbao Vs. Mirandes, 2012 Copa Del Rey Semifinals: Los Leones Win 6-2
Athletic Bilbao are through to the final of the Copa del Rey, thanks to their 6-2 home victory on Tuesday night, giving them a 8-3 aggregate win over minnows Mirandes. Somehow advancing all the way to the semifinals despite their third division status, Mirandes never went into a shell and tried to outplay their opponents for 180 minutes. As the score indicates, they came up a bit short.
The opening half hour was all Athletic. Iker Munian scored in the 11th minute with a fantastic finish, and Markel Susaeta doubled the lead just three minutes later with a nice strike of his own, following up on a scramble and a couple of blocked Athletic shots. Jon Aurtenetxe made it 3-0 to Athletic on the night and 5-1 on aggregate in the 22nd minute, heading in a corner.
Athletic slowed things down at that point and went into halftime up 3-0. Aldeano Aitor Blanco got one back for Mirandes off a mad scramble in the box in the 56th minute, and that opened things up considerably. Fernando Llorente would score the next two goals, the first with a brilliant chip in the 71st minute and the second just four minutes later with a tap-in. Blanco gave Mirandes a second goal in the 86th minute before his teammate Fernandez Cesar Caneda gifted Athletic their sixth on the night with an 88th minute own goal.
Los Leones now await the winner of the Barcelona - Valencia tie, which will conclude Wednesday.
Feb 07 5:56p by Kevin McCauley - 0 comments