The new format of the Copa del Rey opens up a range of possibilities for modest Spanish football clubs to have their day of glory against the giants. In this first round of a single match with the first First Division teams in contention, Girona had to sweat the fat drop to advance round. The Catalan team could not overcome a rival four categories below (Third RFEF) until well into extra time (1-2), when Cristhian Stuani came to the rescue to avoid ridicule in Quintanar del Rey, a La Mancha town of little more of 7,000 inhabitants.
On the artificial turf of the Municipal de San Marcos, Míchel's men were overtaken in a second half to be forgotten by the humble team from the town of Cuenca and that tarnished the acceptable performance of the first. Rodrigo Riquelme's goal after the first quarter of an hour helped Girona remain stable until the break. The talented player on loan from Atlético de Madrid was largely to blame for this, since all the attacking actions went through his feet.
The visiting goal came after a great individual action. Starting from the left side, 'Roro' drove inside and after a couple of feints he took a devastating shot to beat Rozalén. The game was facing Girona, perhaps too soon, since with that goal it seemed that it would be a piece of cake. Nothing is further from reality.
In a game with many substitutes in the rojiblanco team, the least desired by the Vallecano coach stood out: Toni Fuidias. The goalkeeper from Madrid Castilla, who was playing his first minutes with his new club, had a transcendental role in containing the Kain, Joaquín, Megías and company. He sometimes even counted on wood as an ally.
The one from Berga could do nothing from eleven meters. A clumsy hand from Terrats inside the area allowed Quintanar to level the match in the 75th minute through Megías. A field with extra stands and fans cheering from various balconies of nearby buildings exploded with joy - even a brave man climbed a tree to watch the game.
Míchel was forced to bring out heavyweights like Taty Castellanos, Arnau or Aleix Garcia, but it was the usual savior who calmed things down in the first part of extra time. After trying it several times with a header, Stuani sent a right hand to the top corner to give the Girona team an advantage. Quintanar did not give up, although with more space Girona was able to sentence.
In fact, the Uruguayan was close to a brace, but César Rozalén took several hands off him, the last one a penalty save. The historic Girona striker hugged the local goalkeeper to congratulate him after the final whistle, as well as the rest of his rivals, including Ramón Blázquez, his former teammate at Albacete when he came to Spanish football. Now the Manchego is a primary school teacher.
Another First Division team that suffered, although not in such an exaggerated way, was Rayo Vallecano, who went into the break tied at one in Mollerussa. He won 1-3. A Second like Zaragoza did fall against Diocesano (1-0).
