MADRID: Ibiza, the Spanish third division side from the island which attracts revellers from the around the world, staged a party of their own on Tuesday as they routed La Liga side Celta Vigo 5-2 in a Copa del Rey second round tie.

Ibiza were only formed in 2015 and lost 2-1 in the third round of Spain’s domestic Cup competition last season to Barcelona, having led with less than 20 minutes to play.

They made no mistake in dumping out top-flight opposition this time around, racing into a 3-0 inside the opening half an hour in a match played on artificial turf on the Balearic Island, helped by two goals from Sergio Castel and a Javi Perez strike.

Manu Molina stretched their lead just past the hour mark with a chipped ‘Panenka’ penalty, but the visitors showed their La Liga class as they launched a comeback.

Santi Mina and Scottish midfielder Jordan Holsgrove scored in the final 12 minutes while Mina also missed a 90th minute penalty before Angel Rodado struck a fifth for the hosts in added time to adorn a stunning victory for the islanders.

Novel coronavirus restrictions prevented a full capacity crowd attending, but 500 supporters practicing social distancing were able to partake in the festivities in the stands.

Celta, who are in eighth place in La Liga, were playing without several regular starters, including injured forwards Iago Apsas and Manuel Nolito Agudo.

The team from northwest Spain were one of the hottest in La Liga in the month of December after the arrival of Argentine coach Eduardo Coudet. They had won five and drawn one until their good run ended with a 2-0 loss at Real Madrid on Saturday.

Ibiza are undefeated and lead their third-division group with six wins and two draws.

“The excitement of our fans pushed us to this victory,” said Ibiza coach Juan Carlos Carcedo.

Top-flight Getafe also bowed out to a third-tier side, losing 1-0 at Cordoba, who were in La Liga as recently as 2015.

Striker Willy Ledesma struck for Cordoba in the seventh minute. Getafe were unable to respond despite having striker Angel Rodriguez leading their attack and putting Juan Mata on for the final 35 minutes.

Getafe have only one win in the last 11 rounds in the league, where they sit 16th. Cordoba are in second place in their group in the third tier.

“Now is the moment to be calm and for reflection,” said Jose Bordalas, whose Getafe are going through their worst stretch with him as coach. “We are all angry, and as of tomorrow we will focus on La Liga.”

Sevilla and Villarreal avoided similar defeats.

Europa League holders Sevilla had little trouble in beating third-division Linares 2-0.

Villarreal, sitting fourth in La Liga, also cruised past third-tier Zamora, winning 4-1 with Colombian striker Carlos Bacca scoring his first domestic goal of the season.

Real Valladolid escaped a similar fate, as Oscar Plano scored an extra-time winner in a 3-2 success at Marbella.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2021