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All square between Celta and Alaves in Cup semi

Xinhua, February 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

Iago Aspas and Pablo Hernandez both hit the woodwork in an intense second half, but Celta Vigo were held to 0-0 at home to Deportivo Alaves in the first leg of their King's Cup semifinal on Thursday night.

The game may not have had the glamour of Wednesday's tie between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, but meant just as much to the 22 players and their fans and that tension was reflected on the pitch on a rain-soaked Balaidos Stadium.

The first half was a tight affair with Celta struggling to break down a well-organized and hard-working Alaves, as they had done just a fortnight ago in the Liga Santander.

However, the incessant rain saw the pitch pick up speed and the game opened up: Iago Aspes smashed a shot against the Alaves crossbar in the 66th minute in what was the best chance of the game until that moment.

Celta were once again inches away from scoring in the 88th minute when Hernandez got on the end of a far-post cross only to see Alaves keeper Fernando Pacheco tip his effort onto the post to leave everything up for grabs in the return leg.

Wednesday saw FC Barcelona take a 2-1 first leg lead against Atletico Madrid in the Vicente Calderon Stadium ahead of the return leg in their Camp Nou Stadium.

The return leg between Barca and Atletico will be played on Tuesday night with the match between Alaves and Celta on Wednesday night in the Medizorroza Stadium in Vitori