Valencia Copa del Rey Tavernes de la Valldigna 6-0 win, Digi Mart USA News (Valencia, Spain): Javier Aguirre’s Valencia eliminated Tavernes de la Valldigna from the Copa del Rey with a 6-0 victory, booking a place in the second round. The Spanish sixth-division side, a modest club from the Valencian region, was defeated despite the opportunity to play its match at Mestalla as the home team.
Goals from Dani Raba, Hugo Duro, Luis Rioja, Harvey Elliott and a double from Aimar Blázquez gave Valencia a comfortable win. Around 40 buses carried Tavernes supporters to the stadium over the afternoon, for what the club described as the most exciting match in its history.
Tavernes reached an agreement with Valencia to host the game at Mestalla because its municipal ground was not suitable for a match of this kind.
Raba opened the scoring after just 34 seconds, finishing a move set up by Aimar. Hugo Duro doubled the lead ten minutes later, and Rioja added a third seven minutes after that with a left-footed strike from a corner.
Harvey Elliott scored from a direct free kick in the 23rd minute, and he apologized to the crowd for his dismissal against Villarreal two matchdays earlier.
Despite the score, the Tavernes supporters kept up their enthusiasm, doing the wave and lighting the stands with mobile phone flashlights. Tavernes goalkeeper Mainar made several saves to limit the margin, including a stop on Aimar before halftime and another from a shot by Mayol.
Aimar completed his brace in the 58th and 69th minutes, both assisted by Luis Rioja.
Tavernes came close to scoring at Mestalla when a short corner routine by Erik struck the post. The result sends Valencia into the second round, while the match was also notable as it was played at Mestalla, which is in its final season before the move to the new Nou Mestalla.
