The third day of Copa del Rey first-round matches failed to produce any upsets, but both Espanyol and Levante had close shaves away
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MADRID — The third day of Copa del Rey first-round matches failed to produce any upsets, but both Espanyol and Levante had close shaves away to lower league opposition.
Kike Garcia scored both goals in Espanyol's 2-1 win away to Atletic Lleida, which plays in the fourth tier of the Spanish game.
Kike opened the scoring with a second-minute penalty, but Lleida made it level just three minutes later thanks to Aldo One, although Kike restored Espanyol's lead on the stroke of halftime, with the top-flight side suffering a few nervous moments in the final minutes.
Levante needed a 91st-minute goal to avoid being taken into extra time against fourth-tier Orihuela in a seven-goal thriller, reports Xinhua.
Unai Elgezabal and Jose Luis Morales put Levante 2-0 up after 11 minutes and it looked easy for the top-flight side, but Javier Solsona's penalty got Orihuela back into the match.
Carlos Espi re-established Levante's two-goal lead in the 48th minute but Gonzalo Mirande pegged Levante back again just three minutes later, and Hector Ayodele sent the home fans wild when he made it 3-3 in the last minute, only for Espi to send Levante through with a 92nd-minute winner.
Celta Vigo eased into the second round with a 2-0 win away to lowly Puerto de Vega, who dug in to reach halftime with the score still 0-0, before Oscar Marcos and a Damien Rodriguez penalty early in the second half gave Celta a comfortable if uninspiring win.
Deportivo Alaves was quickly in control away to sixth-tier CD Getxo, with Mariano Diaz and Carlos Vicente putting the top-flight side 4-0 up by halftime.
Mariano completed his hat-trick in the second half, with Toni Martinez and Morcillo completing a 7-0 win.
Real Betis also had few problems with a 7-1 win away to Palma del Rio.
The second round of the Copa will be played between December 2 to 4.