The Basque club had to wait for penalties to progress against a stubborn UD Logroñés.
Athletic Club, one of the giants of the Copa del Rey, almost suffered an early exit at the hands of UD Logroñés, a Segunda Federación team. Players such as Nico and Iñaki Williams, Guruzeta, Vivian and Paredes were on the field, but the Basque team had to endure a penalty shootout to secure a ticket which was costly. Athletic had their chances, but their finishing was particularly poor, made worse by the dire state of the playing field. It was a veritable mud pit.
Neither team, full of substitutes in their formations, was able to impose their style, which ultimately benefited Logroñés, who aimed to defend and hold their ground, even managing to engage the crowd with their resilient performance, not s lively only in the face of two poorly taken penalties.
Logroñés held his own during the first half without too many mishaps, trying to maintain his composure against an Athletic team who at times seemed contemplative and frustrated by the poor pitch conditions. Despite his coach expressing ‘panic’ over such clashes, his players seemed more keen to control the game rather than pile on the pressure from the start, seeking to gradually push the Riojans into their own half.
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However, they remained stuck in control mode, failing to set a high pace, and their best opportunities went unanswered, allowing Logroñés to hold on for much longer than expected. The course of the match could have changed quickly if Djaló had not deflected a good shot wide in the 9th minute or if Berenguer had not made a weak attempt just before that.
An excellent move from Adama on the left went unfinished and a loose shot from Ander Herrera made up the rest of Athletic’s attacking output in the first half hour. It was only then that Logroñés started to believe more and looked to keep the ball out of his area without taking too many risks to avoid mistakes.
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Thus, the insipid first half edged closer to its expected conclusion, punctuated only by another ill-timed shot from Berenguer, who was the most determined of his teammates.
Ernesto Valverde gave his starting players an extra fifteen minutes to speak; However, during this time, apart from demonstrating obvious technical superiority, Athletic did little else. Nico Serrano, in the 49th minute, and again Berenguer, in the 55th, had the best chances for the Bilbao side during this period, both shooting just wide.
After an hour of generally boring play, Valverde decided to change things up and inject some pace into the match. He brought in the Williams brothers, Vivian for more strength in defense, and Jauregizar to give more ‘legs’ to the midfield. As a result, Athletic increased their pressure on a Logroñés team that was increasingly cornered but was resolutely defending in search of extra time. Moreover, in a very short time, the Riojans stifled Athletic’s attempts to accelerate the tempo, returning monotony to the Las Gaunas field.
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Guruzeta showed ambition in trying to break the deadlock, shooting twice on goal between the 69th and 72nd minutes, but both attempts went too wide.
As frustration mounted, Athletic claimed a penalty for a handball in the Riojan box – in a competition without VAR – but they did little else to avoid extra time, which rewarded the supporters riojans with extra football.
Extra time started like a countdown for Logroñés, who faced their first real problems when Nico Williams tried to ‘invent’ an action near their box, leading only to a corner that Berenguer sent just wide in the 97th minute.
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Guruzeta made a weak attempt at goal in the 103rd minute, which went straight into the arms of Kike Royo, and Nico Williams, in the 114th minute, had the clearest chance to score, but the Riojan goalkeeper made an excellent stoppage to maintain equality as the crowd chanted: ‘Yes, we can!’
The Riojan club achieved their goal, reaching the penalty ‘lottery’, where Aguirrezabala was able to rise to the occasion against Gualda and Sarriegui, their errors giving Athletic a significant advantage, with only Nico Williams missing his penalty, allowing for his team to progress.
