PAMPLONA: Moroccan forward Ez Abde scored from a quick counter-attack early in the second-half to give Osasuna a slim 1-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao in an ill-tempered Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

Both teams will meet again in Bilbao on April 4 with the winner to face either Real Madrid or Barcelona, who will play their semi-final first-leg late on Thursday.

The Basque Country rivals played out a bruising encounter on a freezing night in Pamplona, with neither side showing much quality in the final third while six players were booked as tempers flared.

Osasuna were the better side for large parts of the match but almost fell behind early in the first half when an Iker Muniain strike from the edge of the area deflected off a defender and wrongfooted the goalkeeper who managed to make a desperate goalline save with his boot.

Osasuna took advantage of one of their few opportunities, breaking the deadlock two minutes after the break in a lightning-fast counter-attack led by Abde.

Abde ran down the left channel, dribbled past a defender and slotted a precise shot just inside the left post.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2023