Athletic Club beat Mallorca in Copa del Rey final to end 40-year trophy drought
Bilbao win 4-2 on penalties to clinch 24th Copa del Rey crownFinal had finished 1-1 after goals from Rodríguez and Sancet
Forty years and it all came down to one kick. At 00.51 in the morning in Seville, Oihen Sancet stood by the penalty spot: one shot, one opportunity to seize everything they ever wanted. Across four decades, five finals, Athletic Club had been close but never as close as this and this time they were not going to let go. Sancet skipped to one side, ran towards the ball, smashed it into the net and just kept on running: over the advertising board and towards the thousands of fans behind the goal, celebrating their first major trophy in a generation.
Unmoor the barge that they dared not mention; it is time to take it down the Nervión River for the first time since 1984. Exhausted, Athletic had been made to suffer. They had conceded first and they had to fight back, they had been taken to extra-time and all the way to penalties, this final finishing at 1-1, but they had at last won the Copa del Rey for the 24th time. It had been some wait, and some battle too: there was admiration as Athletic’s fans applauded Real Mallorca when they collected their runner-up medals.
