Getafe top Valencia 1-0 in Copa del Rey

Getafe (Spain), Jan 23: Jorge Molina's goal in the 77th minute proved sufficient for Getafe to beat Valencia 1-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal tie.

The visitors dominated in the opening minutes on a frosty Tuesday night in suburban Madrid, led on the attack by Santi Mina and Kevin Gameiro, though their first shot came only in the 20th minute, a strike by Kang In that sailed over the cross-bar, reports Efe news.

Just seven minutes later, Getafe's Angel Rodriguez forced a save from Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech, who went on to deny the striker twice more before the break.

The contest turned nasty about mid-way through the second half and the referee handed out six yellow cards in the space of 10 minutes.

With 13 minutes left in regulation, Leandro Cabrera got the ball to Molina, who sliced through the Valencia back line and beat Domenech with a low drive.

Valencia pressed hard for the equalizer, but were stymied by the second-stingiest defense in LaLiga and will start the second leg at the Mestalla trailing 1-0.