Valencia vulnerable

Spanish champs wary of upset; Villareal shocked

MADRID (Reuters) -- Injuries will deprive most of Spain's top clubs of key players for first round King's Cup matches Wednesday but Valencia will only have itself to blame if it is dealt an upset by Gimnastic Tarragona.

The league champion has five first team regulars, including 'keeper Santiago Canizares and Argentine center-back Fabian Ayala, involved in a promotional tour of China and unavailable for the game against third division Nastic.

Valencia still insists it is taking the competition seriously, though, especially after the disappointment of last season, when it was kicked out for fielding an ineligible player in the first round against Novelda.

"This is an important competition for us," said Brazilian defender Fabio Aurelio. "Our goal is to go as far as possible.

"We have to forget about what happened last season against Novelda and concentrate on this match. One-off games are difficult in the Cup and Tarragona deserve our respect."

Deportivo Coruna will also be without its first choice goalkeeper when it begins the defense of its title against third division Corralejo.

Jose Molina has fluid on his knee and will miss the trip to the Canary Islands. Also absent will be Portuguese defender Jorge Andrade, who broke a bone in his foot in the side's 4-2 defeat to Real Betis in its opening league game.

Individual programme

Real Madrid, which lost the final to Deportivo on the night of its centenary in the Bernabeu last term, will not be able to field Ronaldo against fourth division San Sebastian de los Reyes as the Brazilian continues his individual training programme.

Coach Vicente del Bosque is likely to rest several other players, with forthcoming games against Real Betis on Saturday and AS Roma in the Champions League next week certain to be a much higher priority.

Barcelona also has half an eye on a tough league game at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and will not risk fullback Carles Puyol and midfielder Luis Enrique, both nursing injuries, when they take on Novelda. Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert will also be rested.

Racing Ferrol became the first side to reach the second round with a 4-0 win over fellow second division side Salamanca on Sunday.

Three more matches are being played on Tuesday, with first division Villarreal and Osasuna among those in action.

Two matches have been postponed.

Ejido are unable to play against Murcia because of an outbreak of gastro-enteritis at the club, while Recreativo Huelva are still waiting to see if they will be playing Ciudad de Murcia in the first round.

Villanueva de Cordoba lost to Ciudad de Murcia in the qualifying round but it has launched an appeal against the result, saying its opponent fielded an ineligible player. Spain's Football Federation are still considering the case.

Third-division Hercules upsets Villarreal in King's Cup

Trailing 1-0 to an early goal from Borja Lafuerza and a man short after the sending-off of Unai, first-division Villarreal were handed a route back into the game when Hercules had Jacinto red-carded on 61 minutes, evening up the numbers.

Martin Palermo equalised within four minutes but it was Hercules who finished the stronger on home territory, Vicente Borge grabbing the winner eight minutes from time.

Osasuna, the other top flight side in action on Tuesday, comfortably avoided a shock at fourth division Lemona, with goals from Jose Manuel Mateo, Cesar Palacios and Alfredo giving them a 3-0 win.

In an all-second division match, a fifth minute goal from Ruben proved enough to give Real Oviedo a 1-0 win at Compostela.

Deportivo Coruna will get the defence of their title underway at third division Corralejo on Wednesday, while Real Madrid are at San Sebastian de los Reyes and Barcelona travel to face Novelda.

 

Related information

Stories

Spain: Muscle strain disrupts Ronaldo's training CNN/World Soccer Top 10: Madrid reigns

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video

Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.