Bilbao join Betis and Osasuna in King's Cup semis

A Fran Yeste penalty gave Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 win at second division Valladolid on Thursday that earned the Basque side a place in the King's Cup semi-finals alongside Real Betis and Osasuna.

The midfielder sent Valladolid keeper Francisco Lledo the wrong way with his perfectly struck 74th-minute spot kick to put his side through 4-2 on aggregate after Joseba Etxeberria had been brought down in the area.

Betis booked their place in the semis on Wednesday when they ended third division Gramenet's heroic Cup run with a thrilling 4-3 home win to progress 6-5 on aggregate.

And Osasuna reached the last four for the second time in three seasons after a 3-1 win at home to Sevilla allowed them to turn round a first-leg deficit and seal a 4-3 aggregate victory over the Andalucians.

The final member of the semi-final quartet will not be known until February 16 when Atletico Madrid and Numancia play their second-leg match.

Atletico ground out a 0-0 draw at Numancia in Wednesday's rescheduled first leg that was postponed after the original fixture was called off because of a frozen pitch.

Bilbao, who held a narrow 3-2 lead after last week's first leg, took no risks against second division opponents in the first half as they kept plenty of men behind the ball and looked to play on the break.

Valladolid, who disposed of Real Madrid in the last round, pushed hard but were constantly frustrated by the well organised Bilbao defence and the closest they came to breaking the deadlock was a sliced shot by Alvaro Anton in the opening minute.

It was the visitors, accompanied by close to 5,000 travelling fans, who enjoyed the best chance of the half when Etxeberria raced clear after beating the offside trap only to see his angled shot bobbled wide of the far post in the 28th minute.

The Basques remained in control after the break and were denied the lead midway through the half when Valladolid keeper Francisco Lledo reacted sharply to stop a Yeste free kick on the line.

It was Yeste who eventually sparked the celebrations from the Bilbao supporters when he fired home his spot kick after Valladolid defender Rafa had lunged at Etxeberria as the Spain winger jinked past him into the area.