Getafe 1-3 Real Betis (3-4 agg.): Copa del Rey adventure ends with a whimper

0-1 Jorge Molina 56'
0-2 Rubén Castro 72'
0-3 Rubén Castro 90'
1-3 Casquero 90+2'

Barcelona spoils go to Béticos as Getafe surrender at home...
... worst performance of the season enough to undo good work of first leg

Getafe crashed out of the Copa del Rey after a dreadful second-half performance at home against Segunda División giants Real Betis.

The Andalucians to their credit, were in great form, and were it not for home 'keeper Oscar Ustari they might indeed have won by a greater margin.

Only in the second half did Jorge Molina hit a deft floating shot that finally beat the Argentine, before Rubén Castro took advantage of a great pass from Salva Sevilla to add a second.

Castro added a third with a rolled shot right at the death, and while skipper Javier Casquero showed fighting spirit to pull one back deep into stoppage time it was nowhere near enough.

Real Betis fully deserve their meeting with Barcelona in the next round. Getafe now must focus on the league.

Getafe: Ustari; Pablo Pintos, Rafa (cata Díaz 57'), Marcano, Miguel Torres; Víctor Sánchez, Boateng; Mosquera (Manu del Moral 46'), Parejo (Casquero 69'), Albín; Miku. Real Betis: Casto; Isidoro, Miki Roqué, Chechu Dorado (Arzu 62'), Nacho; Salva Sevilla, Beñat, Iriney, Emaná (Ezequiel 51'); Rubén Castro, Molina (Israel 80').

Adrián Colunga could make bench return against Real Betis

Getafe's star striker Adrián Colunga has trained normally after overcoming an Achilles tendon injury and is in the provisional squad to face Real Betis in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.

However, coach Míchel has stated that the forward will not start the match, but instead may play from the bench.

"Adrián has completed his first training session, but under no circumstances will he be a starter," he told Marca.

Pedro Ríos, stricken with a stomach bug, is also in the 22-man list but is very unlikely to play.

Only central defender Mario, out long-term with a tendon injury. He is due to return around March.

Getafe are 2-1 up on aggregate against Real Betis, with the second leg taking place at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Thursday at 12:00 local time.

Copa del Rey: Real Betis 1-2 Getafe

0-1 Miku 27'
0-2 Pedro Ríos 35'
1-2 Jorge Molina (pen.) 87'

Narrow first leg advantage hard won in Andalucía
... Miku and Pedro Ríos continue their hot streaks into the year's end...

Getafe took a huge leap towards the Copa del Rey round of 16 with a 2-1 win at Real Betis.

The Madrid side thus ended 2010 with yet another consecutive win and a good performance, spoiled only by the concession of a late penalty.

Miku opened the scoring just before the half-hour after stabbing home from a corner following Iván Marcano's flick-on.

Pedro Ríos, perhaps Geta's player of the season so far, then netted a deserved second on the counter with a brilliantly placed strike from 20 yards out.



Getafe were well in control but surrendered a late goal when Miguel Torres needlessly brought down Ezequiel Calvente with a clumsy challenge. Jorge Molina beat Oscar Ustari with ease to keep the tie alive ahead of the second leg in Getafe in early January.

The winners of this encounter will meet either Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao in the next stage. The Blaugrana could only manage a 0-0 draw at home in their first leg.

Real Betis: Casto; Isidoro, Beleguer, Chechu Dorado, Fernando Vega; Salva Sevilla, Arzu (Ezequiel 46'), Beñat (Juande 68'), Israel (Rodri 61'); Rubén Castro, Jorge Molina.

Getafe: Ustari; Miguel Torres, Rafa, Marcano, Mané; Boateng, Parejo; Pedro Ríos (Casquero 82'), Manu del Moral (Arizmendi 64'), Gavilán (Víctor Sánchez 76'); Miku.

Copa del Rey: Getafe 0-0 Portugalete (1-1 agg.)

A dull as dishwater encounter at the Coliseum sees Getafe through to the next stage of the Copa del Rey, thanks to their 1-1 draw in the Basque Country in the first leg.

The draw for the 1/8 finals - or Round of 16 if you prefer UEFA-speak - takes place on Thursday November 18 at 13:00 CET. All teams remaining in the competition play in the Primera, with the exception of Segunda pairing Córdoba and Betis.

Copa del Rey: Portugalete 1-1 Getafe

Getafe couldn't hold their early lead in their first leg 1/16 round Copa del Rey clash against Portugalete, eventually managing only a 1-1 draw away to the Basque minnows.

reserve star Adrián Sardinero tapping in Juan Angel Albín's cross after good work from Pedro Mosquera. (Fun fact: Sardinero has scored at La Florida before, netting for the reserves in June as Getafe B ousted Portugalete in the play-offs to reach the Segunda División B.)

Although Getafe enjoyed the best of the first half, Portugalete were well worth their draw, which they earned seven minutes after the break, Gaizka Bergara eventually burying Javier Iturriaga's corner.

The rematch is in two weeks' time. This weekend: another trip up to the Basque Country to face Athletic Bilbao.

Getafe 1-0 Valladolid

A late Casquerazo* did the trick here.



Next up: a trip to struggling Malaga in the Copa del Rey.

*admittedly it did take a slight deflection:

Valencia 3 - 1 Getafe

A dreadful start eventually saw Getafe lose out despite a spirited second-half recovery. For all that late effort, Getafe just couldn't do enough.

Mata opened the scoring after just four minutes with a great header after Silva's cross, and then former Geta man Alexis did much the same, although both Tena and Ustari could have done more.

Granero gave Geta a glimpse of hope on half-time after converting a stonewall penalty, and while Villa was denied one of his own just after the break, it eventually didn't matter after Morientes headed home the third and final goal from close range after Osky could only parry Baraja's long-range free kick.

Celestini was then given a straight red for a late challenge on Silva right at the death to end what has been a wholly unsatisfying evening for Getafe fans.

Regardless of the damp squib that was the final, it has been a miraculous season to reach both a second successive cup final and the UEFA Cup quarters - and it's not over yet. Hopefully by Sunday we'll be safe and sound in the Liga, and we can try it all again.

AUPA GETA!

Moment Of Truth

Twenty twenty twenty four (and a bit) hours to go before Geta's second Copa del Rey final in the space of a year.

No squad has been announced yet, but Osky will start in goal ahead of Pato. The referee is Undiano Mallencano.

More details as they become available.

Oh - for those from the UK, Sky aren't showing the game. Ridiculous, isn't it? Never mind: the FA Youth Cup final is on. Yippee.g

Copa: Racing 1 - 1 Getafe

Getafe are set for their second Copa del Rey final in two seasons after a 4-2 aggregate win over Racing.

Pedro Munitis opened the scoring early on for the Cantabrians, but after Oscar Serrano's sending-off, the Azulones fought back.

However, Marca claims that their goal was fraught with controversy. Uche signalled for his teammates to hit the ball out due to an injury to Ezequiel Garay - who actually had to be substituted after the incident - but Albin either did not see his colleague's order or instead ignored it. Thus he strode forward and played the ball to Casquero, who duly netted in fine fashion.

Regardless of the odd circumstance, that was a vital goal - and it looks like another trip to the final for Getafe fans! (But I doubt we've heard the last of tonight's events...)

AUPA GETA!

Getafe 2 - 1 Racing

Ebi Smolarek opened the scoring early in the second half for Racing, but goals from Ikechukwu Uche and then Jaime Gavilan sealed a morale-boosting 2-1 win for Los Azulones.

That's four consecutive wins in all competitions, no defeats for over a month, and seven victories in the last eight.

Racing 'keeper Toño apparently picked up a straight red, while Braulio followed due to a second booking - does anyone know if a straight red in the Liga carries over to the Copa? I bloody hope so. (Update: Yes, Toño is suspended due to that sending-off. So too is Pablo Alvarez, apparently, who was given a red card while sitting on the bench for protesting. Because Braulio's red card was actually two yellows, he will be able to play. Toño, incidentally, has apologised to Braulio and the referee.)

Remaining unbeaten at El Sardinero midweek will be enough to see Geta through to their second successive Copa del Rey final, too. More news on the squad for that match as it becomes available.

And here's a video of today's goals!

Victory Strikes Again

Getafe 3 - 1 Racing Santander

Told you we'd win. Stick with me, we'll go places.

Full credit to the Azulones for fighting back after a poor start to open the scoring through a Ruben de la Red header.

Even greater credit to them for managing to come back from Ebi Smolarek's equaliser: first, Javier Casquero netted, and then Manu del Moral made up for an earlier miss with a fine goal.

Above all, thanks to Pablo Hernandez for setting all three of them up. What a player - the club will need to find someone special to play on the right after he leaves.

The only downsides were injuries to Uche and Belenguer, but there's no word yet on how serious they are.

Dare to dream: could we be set for a second successive Copa del Rey final? Santander is never an easy place to go for visiting teams, but that Manu goal has made me a hell of a lot more comfortable than I would have been at 2-1.

I think I'll be booking another flight to Spain this year...

Copa Del Rey Semi Final, First Leg

Welp, the first leg of the Copa semi-final's about to kick off. Here's the line-up, bogart'd from Marca:

Ustari; Contra, Cata Diaz, Belenguer, Licht; Pablo, De La Red, Casuqero, Granero; Manu, Uche.

Flashpoints: Osky in goal, De La Red and Granero back after their ineligibility at the weekend, Uche up front... and we're going to bloody win.

FORZA GETA!

Oh Dear

Liga form: Poor
Uche: With Nigeria
Cup form: Good
Levante: Done for
Consolation: Scant.

The less said about the last two Liga games, the better, but without Uche, there may be more repeats to come.

Still, Levante - exhausted from their pseudo-heroic loss to Real Madrid at the weekend (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) will hopefully get a good riding tonight to get the spirits up.

Osky will be in goal as Pato is both being rested and hopefully receiving extra coaching of some description after a series of recent errors. Signorino may make a cameo, as might Tena. The midfield's fairly regular-looking, and up front is the usual motley crew. Maybe Kepa can get his confidence back, I don't know.

In any case, expect a four-figure crowd and little worth shouting about. Excelsior!

Getafe 4- 1 Burgos

2,500 hardy souls bothered their arses to watch this one - those who skipped it will rue missing Ikechukwu Uche's injury comeback. Our favourite Nigerian scored twice as Geta easily brushed aside Burgos in this second-leg tie.

The first encounter between the sides ended 1-0 to the good guys, and a similar scoreline seemed to be on the cards after an unspeakably dull opening period.*

Still, Uche grabbed one just before the break, before Ruben de la Red made it 2-0 just after half-time.

Uche then got his second from the spot after Andres committed a foul in the box, before a fellow called Nacho Garrido scored a penalty conceded by a man unknown. Still, Jaime Gavilan restored the three-goal advantage on his "debut" - he's back at the club for a second loan spell from drama factory Valencia - with a fourth.

One interesting factor of this game - encouraging scoreline aside - is that Pato was in goal. The talk of Oscar Ustari being moved on seems to be growing louder than ever; normally, he'd be a stick-on to play in a game like this, having played in the first leg.

Anyway, the Liga resumes this weekend as Getafe take on Valladolid.

*I'm going off Marca's live commentary here - understandably, the wise men who run Spanish television were not falling over themselves to broadcast this one, meaning no online stream.

Copa del Rey

As I incorrectly posted last time around, Getafe faced a trip to Burgos for the Copa del Rey last week.

In fact, this was half-right. Geta do play Burgos in that competition, but not until December.

The first leg will be played on December 12th at El Plantío, with the return leg at the Coliseum taking place, apparently, on January 2nd.

In the meantime, a few Azulones have been away on international duty with various senior and U-21 sides, and I'll provide a full round-up of those after the midweek games are completed.

Geta!

Laudrup To Messi And Iniesta: Get Bad AIDS

OK, maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but Getafe coach Michael Laudrup is certainly not keen not to see Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta line up at the Coliseum on Saturday.

The coach's mood has lightened considerably since Geta begun their recent run of winning form, and this manifested itself in the pre-Barcelona match press conference.

"Everyone's saying what a great player Ronaldinho is," he said. "The same goes for Xavi and Puyol. But, for me, the two have made a difference since the start of the season are Iniesta and Messi.

"Let's see if they catch the flu for Saturday, let's see if they catch a cold. Although, I doubt it, since they're having a great time in Barcelona."

By the standards of managerial interviews, that's Perrier-award winning stuff. Indeed, Geta fans haven't laughed quite as hard at something Barcelona related since our Azulones tonked the blaugrana 4-0 in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg last season.

"A Cup match is different; this is the league," observed killjoy Laudrup as a giggling fit broke out in the front row.

"Last year's Cup match is something unique and, perhaps, will not happen again. It's not logical that a team like Getafe beats Barcelona 4-0.

"It's a good memory for us, but we need to keep our feet on the ground."

Still, he holds out faint hope of a repeat.

"Barcelona win everything at home - but not away. That gives us hope that we can score," he said.

He's not wrong. Barça looked kickass midweek at the Nou Camp against Rangers, which is all the more impressive since the Glasgow side make Real Murcia look like Brazil 1970 in terms of attacking flair.

(Laudrup himself is no stranger to Barcelona's style, having played for them for five wildly successful seasons in the early 90s.)

The boss closed by saying that David Belenguer is still not 100% fit, and he'll allow the capitán to decide for himself whether or not he's ready to play.