Villarreal loses 5-0 in Copa del Rey.

October 30, 2008

Villarreal loses 5-0 in Copa del Rey. Jorge Molina’s hat trick helped third-division minnows Polideportivo Ejido inflict a humiliating 5-0 defeat on Villarreal in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Molina scored in the 8th, 38th and 54th minutes of the fourth round first-leg match at Ejido’s Santo Domingo Stadium, with Gregory Laget adding late goals to complete Villarreal’s first defeat in all competitions this season.

Two more first-division teams lost against lower-league opposition - Racing Santander went down 2-1 at second-division Murcia, while third-division Ponferradina beat Sevilla 1-0.

Murcia rallied on goals by Jose Luis Capdevila and Adrian Sikora in the 74th and 77th minutes after Santander took an early lead through Ivan Bedia.

Cristian Portilla’s fierce shot in extra time brought Ponferradina victory over the 2007 champion.

One more first-division team failed to win, Espanyol mustering only a 2-2 draw at second-division Celta Vigo.

However, Valencia made a successful start to its Copa del Rey defense by beating Portugalete 4-1.

Fernando Morientes, replacing Valencia’s rested leading scorer David Villa, scored the visitor’s first goal in the 11th minute in the Basque town of Barakaldo.

The Spanish league leader doubled its tally 10 minutes later through Vicente Rodriguez.

Portugalete, the only fourth-tier team remaining in the last 32 of the competition, reduced the deficit in the 47th through Urko Vera’s header.

Five minutes later, Morientes shot Valencia’s third goal from Vicente’s pass, with substitute Nikola Zigic sealing the comfortable win when he fired home in the 84th.

Five other topflight sides - Atletico Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna, Almeria, Valladolid and Real Betis - all avoided upsets in their trips to inferior opposition.

Nine-time champion Atletico won 1-0 at Orihuela, Deportivo downed Elche 2-0, Almeria beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1, Valladolid trounced Hercules 5-1, and Betis won 2-0 at Castellon.

In all-first-division matchups, 23-time champion Athletic Bilbao beat visiting Recreativo Huelva 2-0, Sporting Gijon won 1-0 at Numancia, host Malaga drew 1-1 with Mallorca, and Getafe, beaten finalist for the past two seasons, drew 0-0 with visitor Osasuna.

The second legs are scheduled for Nov. 12.

First-division clubs have entered the competition at this stage, with rules stating that those who are drawn against lower-league opponents must play the first leg away from home.

On Tuesday, Barcelona won 1-0 at third-division Benidorm. Real Madrid begins its bid to win the competition for the first time since 1993 at third-division Real Union on Thursday.