By DPA,
Madrid : Atletico Madrid and Mallorca dramatically edged their way into the quarter-finals of the Spanish King’s Cup, pushing aside second-division opponents Recreativo Huelva and Rayo Vallecano.
Atletico delighted their long-suffering fans by beating Huelva 5-1 Thursday, with Simao hitting the winning goal just six minutes from time.
“This was a tremendous night for us,” Atletico captain Antonio Lopez said. “The fans were really helpful, and we are pleased that we could finally give them something to celebrate, after so many disappointments this season.”
Atletico go through on a narrow 5-4 aggregate. They lost 3-0 January 6 in Huelva but soon made up the arrears Thursday, with first-half goals from Simao, Sergio Aguero and Tomas Ujfalusi.
An own goal from Huelva defender Magnus Troest made it 4-0 to Atletico. However, Atletico never do things the easy way, and, with just 18 minutes to go, some pathetic defending allowed Carlos Carona to score what seemed to be a decisive away goal for Huelva.
With just six minutes left, though, Simao made it 5-1 with one of his classy free-kicks, and Atletico were through.
In the quarter-finals, which begin next week, Atletico will again meet second-division opponents in the shape of Celta Vigo, who edged out Villarreal Tuesday.
Mallorca left it even later than Atletico on Thursday, beating Rayo Vallecano 3-1 with an injury-time winner from Mario Suarez.
The islanders go through on a tight 4-3 aggregate. In the quarterfinals they will meet Getafe, who swept Malaga aside Wednesday.
The other quarter-finals will bring together Deportivo Coruna and favourites Sevilla – who edged past Valencia and Barcelona on Wednesday – and Racing Santander and Osasuna.