Atlético Mancha Real - Athletic Club
R.32
Cup

Atlético Mancha Real - Athletic Club

Atlético Mancha Real
Atlético Mancha Real
02
Athletic Club
Athletic Club
  • N. Williams 20'43'

LocationLa Juventud , Mancha Real

Nico Williams fires Athletic into the next round of the Copa

The youngster made his goalscoring debut with a bracethat made the difference against Mancha Real

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Athletic Club have qualified for the last 16 of the Copa after beating Atlético Mancha Real 0-2 thanks to a brace from Nico Williams.

It was a professional victory, built on the serious attitude with which the Lions approached the game and the support from the hundreds of Andalusian Athletic fans who turned up in Jaen.

Left-winger Nico Serrano shone on his first start as a Lion, while Peru Nolaskoain and Alex Petxarroman also started. It was a particularly special moment for Peru after his recent injury troubles.

If anyone came out on shining on Thursday night, it was Nico Williams. The young winger made quite the impression in the first half, running circles around Mancha Real’s defence and scoring the two winning goals.

Nico’s first drive forward saw him send in a great cross which Raúl García headed over. His second big moment ended in a goal, his first of many to come for Athletic.

Nico Serrano created space for Iñigo Lekue down the left and the full-back whipped in a cross which goalkeeper Lopito parried into Williams’ path. The youngster controlled the ball and shot past Lopito with his left to put Athletic ahead on 19 minutes.

Williams show signs of his class again ten minutes later, striking the cross bar with a left-footed effort. He got his second towards the end of the first half, a through ball by Mikel Vesga saw Nico cut through the opposition defence before beating the home goalkeeper with all the composure in the world.

Athletic maintained their control in the second half and barely allowed the enthusiastic Andalusian side to get forward.

The Lions had two good chances to increase their lead after the break. First, Nico Serrano found Alex Berenguer with a pinpoint low cross into the box, but the latter could not get the better of Lopito.

The second saw Oihan Sancet hit the crossbar from point-blank range after getting a touch to a shot by Raúl García.

The other big news was a debut for Juan Artola, the 20-year-old forward has been at Lezama since 2010. Superb performances from the young players also meant Marcelino was able to rest Iñaki Williams and Iker Muniain for the upcoming LaLiga match against Deportivo Alavés.