Sporting de Huelva beat Córdoba 5-1 in the opening round of the Copa Andalucía and reached the semi-final, which they will play on Wednesday the 12th at 19:00 against Granada, one of the two Liga F sides who sat this round out.
The tie was settled inside forty-six minutes. Camila Pescatore opened the scoring in the 16th with a shot from outside the box and Alba Quintana made it two in the 23rd after taking the ball round the goalkeeper. The most striking goal of the night came in the 37th: Paula Sánchez Clavijo struck a direct free kick from three quarters of the pitch. Then, right before the interval in the 45th, Pescatore completed her double — again from outside the area.
On the pitch a minute, and scoring
The second half began with the tie already decided and still refused to settle. África González, who had not started and came on at the break, made it five in the 46th: one minute after stepping onto the grass.
Córdoba responded immediately, by the only route left to them. In the 48th Paula Albarrán conceded a penalty and Carlota converted it. It was their only goal and the last of the match: what followed was a drinks break in the 71st — the second, after one in the 30th — and Aretxabala striking the crossbar in the 76th.
The ground named after the head coach
Sporting were at home in an unusual sense. All five ties in this Copa Andalucía are being played at Huelva’s Estadio Antonio Toledo Sánchez, which carries the name of the man who runs the home side from the touchline.
The eleven Toledo picked was half new. Marta Gasienica, Paula Sánchez Clavijo and Carmen Florido Durán all signed this summer, and all three were involved in the goalscoring — Gasienica went close to the third in the 35th with a shot that drifted wide. Opposite them, Sergio Guillén’s Córdoba arrived with eleven new faces after an almost total rebuild.
What comes next
Sporting de Huelva now meet opponents from two divisions above them. The other half of the draw is completed on the same Sunday, with Málaga against Betis at 21:00 on the same pitch: the winner faces Sevilla. Both semi-finals are on Wednesday the 12th, and the final is on Sunday the 16th.
The full route is set out in the competition bracket, and how each side arrived, in the Copa Andalucía guide.