Bilbao (EFE) previously achieved in 2005, when they lost to Betis in the final match.
On that occasion, as on this one and also with Ernesto Valverde on his bench, Athletic fell in the semifinals. He did it against Betis and in a penalty shootout to which today’s match seemed paid until Ibáñez’s enormous kick.
Too great a punishment for an Athletic that finished off up to 23 times on goal, for only eight Osasuna, and forced 18 corner kicks. None of the Navarrese team.
For the rojillos it was the prize for knowing how to endure in a match in which they were clearly outclassed in all facets of the game. Less in the definition, which is luck that counts.
Nico Williams, who missed two clear chances already with the 1-0 score by his brother after half an hour, will remember it for a long time and will long for his team’s forty-second final, which he will have to wait for.
With Munian at Athletic and Osasuna without Budimir, the match started colder than expected. The locals tried to take the initiative, but the visitors also recorded a couple of arrivals in the first minutes. Both to the right of Rubén and Moncayola.
However, little by little the clash was leaning towards Herrera’s goal, who had to be huge to cover up a one-on-one with Guruzeta in the 8th minute. The Gipuzkoan striker first beat Aridane and then was somewhat reluctant to the time to define
Halfway through the first half, Athletic already decided to go for Osasuna and a deflected shot by Nico from the edge opened what was going to be an eight-minute siege until the older Williams made it 1-0.
Vesga and Iñaki insisted and De Marcos met Herrera again to prevent Bilbao’s first goal. Header from Laguardia’s winger and a save to deflect a corner from Miranda de Ebro’s goalkeeper.
From that corner kick came 1-0. Osasuna was suffering from set pieces and Muniain’s cross was headed by Vesga. The ball missed the goal, but it went towards Williams, who finished off as best he could to the bottom of the crossbar.
The rojillos tried to respond with a diagonal on the left by Kike García, who found a firm Arrizabalaga and a defense already determined not to concede more in that play.
Iñaki Williams still scored a second goal before the break, but his shot from a pass from his brother Nico was clearly offside.
The second half began like the first, dominated by Athletic, which was creating chances. The first from set pieces, from Yeray and Iñigo, to centers from Muniain.
But the clearest ones also reaching the equator. Three great opportunities for Nico, Sancet and Iñigo who ventured a local siege.
But Nico sent to the clouds a perfect counterattack led by his brother and Guruzeta; David García came out to block Sancet’s hard shot; and Iñigo found himself with little angle and the ball to his bad leg, his right, when a cross had overcome the entire Osasuna defense.
Athletic did not take advantage of their second moment of the game, Osasuna endured the attack and the clash entered final territory, in which a goal seemed the sentence.
Like the one that escaped in minute 86 from Raúl García and again from Nico. Although the veteran forward was interposed by Herrera with another good intervention and the young winger again lost the clear goal shot to the clouds.
Kike Barja tried to emulate the situation, finishing off a safe Agirrezabala, but the occasion was invalidated due to a previous offside by Aimar.
A last attempt by Kike García, a shot bitten off and deflected from the edge, sent the tie to extra time.
The line continued in added time, with Athletic commanding and creating danger in the strategy with a new header from Vesga, from Muniain’s corner kick, which Herrera cleared again with another great save.
Chimy Ávila answered at the edge of the end of the first part of extra time with a high shot from a diagonal line on the left.
When it seemed like the clash destined for penalties, with Osasuna blunt and Athletic unwise, the Navarrese team found oil and a final in a Moncayola cross masterfully finished off from the front by Pablo Ibañez.
A beautiful half volley, impossible for Agirrezabala, which filled the half thousand rojillo supporters who came to Bilbao with happiness and flooded Pamplona and all of Navarra with joy.
Datasheet:
1 – Athletic: Counts it; De Marks, Yeray (Vivian, m.91), Inigo Martinez, Yuri; Vesga, Sancet (Many Ares, m.111); Iñaki Williams, Muniain (Zarraga, m.99), Nico Williams (Berenguer, m.99); and Guruzeta (Raul Garcia, m.81).
1 – Osasuna: Sergio Herrera; Moncayola, Aridane, David Garcia, Juan Cruz; torro; Rubén García (Darko Brasanac, m.66), Aimar Oroz (Pablo Ibáñez (m.100), Moi Gómez (Manu Sánchez, m.83), Abde (Kike Barja, m.66), and Kike García (Chimy Ávila, m.91).
Goals: 1-0, m.33: Iñaki Williams. 1-1, m.116: Paul Ibanez.
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (C. Madrid). He showed a yellow card to the locals Vesga (m.20) and Sancet (m.94) and to the visitors Torró (m.43), Kike Barja (m.74).
Incidents: second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals played in San Mamés in front of 51,544 spectators, a record attendance for a football match in the Bilbao field.
Ramon Orosa