Gramenet confirm place in King's Cup quarters

Third division Gramenet continued their giant-killing exploits on Tuesday by confirming their place in the King's Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 aggregate victory over second division Lleida.

The Catalan side, who defeated Primera Liga Barcelona and Levante in the previous rounds, lost 1-0 on the night and were reduced to 10 men with eight minutes to go. However, they battled on to claim their first place in the last eight.

Sevilla joined the third division side in the hat for the next round when they notched up a 4-1 aggregate win over 2003 finalists Recreativo Huelva after a 2-1 victory in the second leg.

Second division Recreativo gave the Primera Liga high-fliers a scare when they took the lead after a penalty on the half hour, striker Xavi Jimenez drilling home on the rebound after Sevilla Antonio Notario had saved his spot kick.

But Sevilla hit back with two second-half strikes to put the result of the tie beyond doubt.

Defender Pablo headed in from close range on the hour after Dario Silva had nodded on a free kick in the area and striker Carlos Aranda made it 2-1 on the night when he drilled in after the Recre defence had given him space on the edge of the area.

Sevilla midfielder Marti was sent off seven minutes from time but the home side were never in danger of losing their lead.

Lleida, who warmed up for the clash with a crushing 5-1 win over Murcia at the weekend, took control from the whistle against fellow Catalans Gramenet.

But they were unable to take advantage until seven minutes before the break when midfielder Santos made the most of a defensive error to clip home past keeper Morales.

The goal was met with a howl of protests by the Gramenet players as one of their team mates was down injured at the time and Lleida had not put the ball out of play.

The third division side suffered another setback when midfielder Xavi Gracia was sent off late in the game after picking up a second booking but they still managed to hang on for a famous victory.