Struggling Valencia reach King’s Cup semis

Stuttering Valencia reached the King’s Cup semi-finals after a Rodrigo Moreno strike gave them a morale-boosting 1-0 second-leg victory away to Las Palmas and a 2-1 aggregate win on Thursday.

Valencia are yet to win in seven La Liga matches under coach Gary Neville and lie 11th in the table, but the chance of silverware will ease some of the tension surrounding the club.

The game was always in the balance but Valencia worked hard defensively and had the better chances to score with Moreno slotting home in front of goal 20 minutes into a hard-fought encounter.

“I am delighted with the result and the clean sheet,” Neville told a news conference.

“I thought that we made it damn hard for ourselves and I think that we like to make the Valencia fans suffer a bit.

“I am happy for the fans though as they have been patient with us over the last few weeks.”

Sevilla eased into the last four after a Vicente Iborra penalty helped them on their way to a 3-0 second leg win over second tier Mirandes and a 5-0 aggregate success.

Sevilla were firmly in charge from the start and went ahead after Sebastian Cristoforo was upended by Ion Velez and Iborra sent keeper Raul Fernandez the wrong way with his spotkick after nine minutes.

Mirandes caused little danger and Sevilla could have added to their lead but Yevhen Konoplyanka fired over and Vitolo had a shot beaten away by Fernandez in the first half.

They sealed the win after the break when 20-year-old Juan Munoz finished clinically after 70 minutes from a Vitolo pass and Coke headed home the third goal in stoppage time.

Sevilla have clicked into gear after a slow start to the season and have suffered just one defeat in 16 games in all competitions, moving them up to seventh in La Liga.

Valencia’s injury problems eased with Enzo Perez returning to the side and Sofiane Feghouli fit for the bench, although Paco Alcacer and Javi Fuego were among those still in the treatment room.

After being frozen out by previous coach Nuno Espirito Santo, Alvaro Negredo has become an important player for Neville, who is keen to make the most of his experience in a young side, and he volleyed just wide after 14 minutes.

Valencia threatened down the left wing in the first half, especially through Pablo Piatti, but Las Palmas found a lot of space in midfield yet struggled to create clear chances.

Andre Gomez crossed for Moreno to put Valencia ahead and Negredo could have added to the lead before halftime but shot weakly with only keeper Raul Lizoain to beat.

Moreno was also wasteful with a shot over the crossbar while Valencia keeper Mathew Ryan was more involved in the second half and in particular made a good block to deny Momo after 60 minutes.

Holders Barcelona reached the semi-finals on Wednesday after knocking out Athletic Bilbao, while Real Madrid were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player in an earlier round.

Celta Vigo completed the semi-final lineup with a 3-2 aggregate success against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.