MADRID, 9 October 2003 — Real Madrid, Barcelona and Deportivo Coruna were pushed hard by lower ranked opponents before booking their places in the King’s Cup second round on Tuesday.
Barcelona, who have fallen at the first hurdle in the Cup for the last two seasons, struggled against third division Gramanet and had to rely on a classy finish from Brazilian Ronaldinho five minutes from time to claim a 1-0 victory.
Real were somewhat flattered by the scoreline in their 3-0 victory over San Sebastian de los Reyes as the third division side went unrewarded for some ambitious attacking play against the Primera Liga champions.
A cool finish from skipper Raul against the run of play on 29 minutes and close-range strikes by Javier Portillo and Esteban Cambiasso in the second half allowed Real to move safely into the last 32.
Deportivo Coruna, Cup winners in 2002, were pushed much closer by fellow Galicians Compostela as they edged a 1-0 victory in an evenly-balanced contest at San Lazaro.
Striker Diego Tristan only managed to grab the winner against the third division side seven minutes from time when he slotted home from two meters out after a Hector cross rebounded off the keeper.
Villarreal, who lost in the first round last season, were also made to sweat it out in their tie against second division Alicante and it took an injury-time penalty from striker Victor to seal a 2-1 victory.
First division leaders Valencia make the trip to Castellon and Athletic Bilbao were to play Gimnastica Torrelavega in late games.
Sanse, as they are more usually known, made a bright start against their illustrious neighbors Real Madrid and the visitors’ keeper Cesar had to make two sharp saves to deny the home side an early lead.
Although it was the third division side who continued to dominate, Real took the lead against the run of play thanks to a typical piece of opportunism from Raul just before the half hour mark.
Lurking amongst the Sanse defenders on the edge of the area, the Real skipper pounced on a pass from Solari and tipped the ball over the head of keeper Rebollo.
Sanse fought back well and continued to play neat football as they pinned Real back in their area, but they lacked the firepower to finish their promising attacking moves.
They came closest to equalizing early in the second half when Cesar and Roberto Carlos scrambled the ball off the line following a sharp header from a corner.
But it was Real who found the finishing touch in front of goal once more on 58 minutes after striker Portillo clipped in from close range following a slick passing move involving midfielders Solari, Cambiasso and Guti.
Real then took control and Cambiasso added a third two minutes from time when he cracked in from five meters after Riki had headed a Roberto Carlos free kick back across the face of the goal.
