Espanyol struck three goals in four minutes to snatch a dramatic 3-2 comeback win at home to third-tier Mirandes in a King's Cup quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday. Competing in the last eight for the first time having disposed of Villarreal and Racing Santander, Mirandes shocked the crowd at a chilly Cornella stadium in Barcelona by opening a 2-0 lead thanks to Alain Arroyo and captain Pablo Infante. Espanyol, which has won the trophy four times but not since 2006, looked well beaten ahead of next week's second leg until Vladimir Weiss stole in to make it 2-1 five minutes from time. Rui Fonte nodded the equaliser two minutes later and Joan Verdu punished a defensive lapse to poke in the winner in the 89th to leave the Mirandes players cursing and shaking their heads in disbelief and the home fans in raptures. The Segunda B leader, based in the town of Miranda de Ebro in northern Spain, has an annual budget of 1.23 million euros ($1.6 million) compared with Espanyol's estimated 50 million. Mirandes coach Carlos Pouso refused to criticise the referee despite having what appeared to be a clear penalty turned down in the second half. The winner of the tie will play Athletic Bilbao or Real Mallorca in the semifinals.
