Betis reach King's Cup final after shootout

Luis Fernandez scored the winner as Real Betis beat Athletic Bilbao 5-4 on penalties on Wednesday to reach their third King's Cup final.

The semi-final finished 0-0 on aggregate after the second leg in Bilbao went into extra time.

Neither side could break the deadlock in normal time although Antonio Doblas of Betis was by far the busier goalkeeper, pulling off a number of fine saves as Bilbao dominated.

Betis went closest to scoring near the end of extra time when a Marcos Assuncao free-kick skimmed off a crowd of heads on to the crossbar.

The visitors finished the game with 10 men when defender Juanito was sent off for his second yellow card on 120 minutes.

Betis, who have only won the Cup once before in 1977, will have to wait until Thursday to find out their final opponents.

Osasuna travel to Atletico Madrid holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg.

Bilbao took control of the game early on and Doblas had to to touch Carlos Gurpegui's header over the bar and block a fierce left-footed drive from Fran Yeste.

Midfielder Tiko nearly caught out the Betis keeper with a 30-metre effort before the break but by then the visitors had settled into the game, playing on the break.

From the Andalucians's first corner two minutes before the interval, midfielder Melli fired in a close-range volley which was blocked on the line by Bilbao keeper Inaki Lafuente.

The second half was barely five minutes old when a partial floodlight failure stopped the tie for 13 minutes. Play resumed with dimmer lights.

Doblas rescued his side again after 65 minutes, making a spectacular double save from Yeste's volley and Tiko's follow up as Bilbao pressed.

Second-half substitute Ismael Urzaiz and Santi Ezquerro headed wide when well placed near the end of normal time as Betis were forced into desperate defence.

The home side continued to make the running during extra time but it was Assuncao's free-kick which went closest to avoiding the need for penalties.

Doblas turned hero once again in the shootout. He saved from Asier del Horno and Ezquerro as it moved into sudden death, leaving Fernandez to hit the winner.