MADRID, 30 January 2004 — Second division Alaves reached the semifinals of the King’s Cup with a 4-3 aggregate victory over Celta Vigo, despite losing 1-0 to the Primera Liga strugglers in Wednesday’s second leg.
Real Madrid and Sevilla joined Alaves in the last four by completing emphatic aggregate wins over Valencia and Atletico Madrid in the day’s other quarterfinals.
Real, leading 3-0 after the first leg at the Bernabeu, won the return 2-1 with goals from Raul and Zinedine Zidane to make it 5-1 overall.
Sevilla put behind them the sale of Spanish international forward Jose Antonio Reyes to Arsenal by booking their place in the semis, completing an emphatic 6-1 aggregate victory over Atletico Madrid with a 2-1 win at the Calderon.
With prospective new coach Radomir Antic watching from the stands, Celta started well enough but spurned several early chances and became frustrated as Alaves closed them down in midfield.
Celta finally managed to get the ball in the net midway through the second half when Alaves keeper Juan Pablo fumbled a Gustavo Lopez free kick, but the visitors won through to the semis with a disciplined defensive display.
There was never any doubt about the outcome of Wednesday’s other two ties, with Real Madrid and Sevilla both holding huge leads after the first legs.
Raul ended all hopes of a heroic Valencia comeback when he raced on to a sharp through ball from Ronaldo to guide home on 14 minutes.
Ronaldo could have made the Valencia task even more difficult if he had not missed the target with an angled drive just before halftime.
Valencia created several chances against a Real side missing suspended midfielder David Beckham, but their only reward came when substitute Xisco nodded into an open goal after fellow striker Mista had headed on to the bar 16 minutes from time.
Valencia were denied the slim satisfaction of a draw on the night when Zidane’s free kick ricocheted in off the wall and past helpless keeper Andres Palop two minutes into injury-time.
In the remaining quarterfinal, Barcelona was to looking to turn the tie around after their disappointing 1-0 home defeat when they travel to Real Zaragoza yesterday.
Hat Trick for Mboma in Cameroon Romp
In Sfax, Tunisia, Patrick Mboma scored a hat trick as Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions roared back from a goal down to beat Zimbabwe 5-3 in a thrilling African Nations Cup tie yesterday.
Cameroon were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in their Group C opener and the holders’ campaign went from bad to worse with Zimbabwe skipper Peter Ndlovu’s eighth-minute header.
But Mboma promptly hit two and made another for midfielder Modeste Mbami to put Cameroon firmly the driving seat, despite Ndlovu scoring from the penalty spot two minutes after the re-start.
Mboma then completed his hat trick and Mbami added his second of the afternoon in the space of two minutes as the Lions ripped Zimbabwe’s defense to shreds. Esrom Nyandoro scored a late third consolation goal for Zimbabwe.
With four points on the board, holders Cameroon can seal a place in the quarterfinals in their final group match against Egypt on February 3 at Monastir.
Zimbabwe could not be faulted for effort in midfield, while Ndlovu and Joel Luphahla were a constant menace up front but they were outgunned by a far superior strike force.
Cameroon had just fired a warning shot, with Timothee Atouba heading against the bar, when their defense was caught out of position by Wilfred Mugeyi’s curling cross and Ndlovu’s powerful header past stranded keeper Idriss Kameni. Cameroon soon recovered their poise, with Geremi’s flighted passes and Samuel Eto’o’s dribbling runs probing a well-organized Zimbabwean defense. But the pressure from the Lions finally paid off in the 31st minute when a Zimbabwe clearance reached Eric Djemba Djemba. The Manchester United midfielder hooked it back into the area and Mboma swivelled round to fire home.
Ndlovu then nearly grabbed a second with a sizzling shot which flashed narrowly wide of Kameni’s post. But the contest dramatically swung Cameroon’s way with two goals in the space of five minutes.
Mbami worked a neat one-two with Mboma and comfortably rifled past keeper Energy Murambadoro in the 39th minute.
Mboma added his second in the 44th, when midfielder Jean Makoun headed a corner back across the face of goal and the Cameroon striker stuck out a leg to prod it home.
