Dogged Recreativo hold Atletico to reach King's Cup semis

First division basement side Recreativo Huelva produced a dogged defensive display to hold Atletico Madrid to a 0-0 draw at the Calderon and secure a place in the last four of the King's Cup on Tuesday.

The goalless draw meant that Recreativo's 1-0 home win in the first leg was enough to see them through to the semi-finals for the first time in their history and end Atletico's dreams of winning the Cup in their centenary season.

Atletico, who trailed 1-0 after the first leg, dominated the match as they pushed forward in search of a goal to level the tie.

But despite monopolising the possession and stringing together some neat passing moves, Luis Aragones's side found it difficult to penetrate the deep-lying Recreativo defence.

Midfielder Jose Mari did find space for a shot on seven minutes but struck wide of the post and winger Luis Garcia headed over the crossbar soon after.

Frustration began to set in as Atletico found themselves unable to break down the determined Recreativo defence and their only other clear chance of the half was when Garcia fired straight at keeper Jose Luque three minutes from the break.

Atletico midfielder Demetrio Albertini shaved the post with a long-distance drive in the first minute of the second half, but they created few other clear chances.

Recreativo rarely ventured forward and their only scoring chance of the game came when midfielder Emilio Viqueira, who scored the winner in the first leg, went close with a free kick on 64 minutes.

Two of the remaining three ties will be decided on Wednesday when Real Madrid travel to Real Mallorca after last week's 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu and Osasuna host Sevilla following a similar result in the first leg.

On Thursday, holders Deportivo Coruna will attempt to avoid an upset as they defend a 1-0 advantage away to second division leaders Murcia.