Unionist act that sank the Yellow Submarine

Unionistas de Salamanca-Villarreal’s extension was played on Monday after not playing on Sunday due to an electrical installation failure that forced it to be suspended. The match, which corresponds to the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey, reached the end of regulation time with a score of 1-1. In extra time the score did not move and penalties were decided. The Unionistas scored all of them except for the one stopped by Reina and in the submarine part Alberto Moreno and Kiko Femenía failed, the latter being the decisive one.

For about an hour, attempts were made to fix the problem to complete the match, and some of the lights were restored, but it was finally postponed until Monday.

The Unionistas put Villarreal in serious trouble before extra time

The Salamanca team was better than the ‘Yellow Submarine’ in some sections of the game. Marcelino’s men were never able to subdue their rival which could be assumed due to the category difference between the two. Daniel Ponz’s men went into the game to compete head-to-head with a First Division team and worried Pepe Reina on more than one occasion. The first half was full of intensity and a good atmosphere, but hardly any chances. The players went into the locker room tunnel with the score tied, although the real party came in the second half.

After several minutes in which neither of them had launched an attack, the Unionists managed to take the lead in a highly controversial game that ended with the goal disallowed. Ekaitz fell to the spot, the play continued and ended up in the goal. The referee, however, backed off and whistled for simulation (63′). In the 82nd minute, young Ilias Akhomach unleashed his magic to score a rare goal. With his left foot he executed a ‘folha seca’ that slipped past the squad. The locals, who saw that the dream would turn into limbo, continued to attack everyone and found an absurd punishment from Comesaña that allowed them to tie. The midfielder pushes an opponent inside the area. Alfred Planas missed from eleven meters. The final minutes were absolutely crazy and the Castilian-Leonese came away with a historic feat under their arms. Nothing broke the equation and a power breakdown appeared.

The extension

It was a very atypical extra time because under normal conditions the players arrived very physically affected and since 20 hours had passed since the match was postponed, they were all healthy.

The Unionistas, pushed by the great atmosphere of the Reina Sofia, far from settling for a draw, sought victory. They tried a lot of hanging balls and long shots. However, Villarreal had one of the clearest, with a free kick that Terrats took and Iván Martinez kept out of the goal. The ball hits the post. In the second half of extra time it was all down to the locals, who had a very clear chance at a set piece, but Lekovic saved it between the posts. In the last five minutes they both drew and took no chances.

Penalties decided

The locals, who played in twelve due to the great support of Reina Sofía, performed an almost perfect round. Alberto Moreno and Kiko Femenía failed for Villarreal. The Unionistas scored all but one of the penalties, which Pepe Reina stopped with an excellent intervention.