Buenos Aires, December 3 (NA) – Villarreal, with Argentine Juan Foyth on the bench, beat the modest Antoniano 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in extra time away from home, advancing to the third round of the Copa del Rey.
At the humble Municipal stadium in Lebrija, which has a capacity of 3,500, Marcelino García Toral's team visited the modest Antoniano, which plays in Group IV of the Segunda Federación, equivalent to the fourth division of Spanish football.
According to the Argentine News Agency, in this category, the Seville-based team is eleventh, four points away from the promotion playoffs, one point from the relegation playoff, and three points from the relegation zone.
After 90 uneventful minutes in which the UEFA Champions League team could not break down the fourth-division mid-table side, forward Ayoze Pérez scored 1-0 for Villarreal in the 12th minute of the first half of extra time.
However, the modest team coached by Manuel Jesús Rogano Segura did not give up and went in search of the equalizer, achieving the longed-for goal in the 4th minute of the second half of extra time, scored by Jesús García.
Thus, Villarreal and Antoniano went to a penalty shootout where both teams scored on their first two attempts, but the series broke in the third when Juan Duran missed his chance and Georgian Georges Mikautadze put the 'Yellow Submarine' ahead.
Finally, on the fifth attempt, Moroccan Ilias Akhomach sealed the 5-3 penalty victory for the Castellón team and their passage to the third round, where they will face Real Murcia, who beat Cádiz 3-2.
In other matches of the round, Talavera De La Reina beat Málaga 2-1, Eldense eliminated Almería by beating them 2-1, Sporting de Gijón defeated Mirandés 2-0, Cultural Leonesa beat Andorra 4-2, Levante beat Cieza 1-0, Ourense surprised by defeating Girona 2-1, Elche beat Quintanar Del Rey 2-1, Eibar eliminated Pontevedra 3-0, Real Sociedad beat Reus Reddis 2-0, and Real Betis thrashed Torrent 4-1.