Real Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini hailed their team spirit after last night's Copa del Rey win at Villanovense.

Having been 1-0 down, Betis won through goals from Ez Abde (89') and Borja Iglesias (93').

Pellegrini said: "The positive assessment is that we passed the round in the Cup although we knew that we were going to face a very difficult match, against a team that knows how to do what it plays and that it played a very good game today.

"I don't know if I'm happier for having qualified or sad because they didn't pass because the truth is that during the 90 minutes they largely surpassed us. We couldn't find the spaces, they defended well without making fouls, without wasting time and I think the team tried and couldn't because they never found the spaces to do damage.

"In the first half we had two dangerous crosses and we didn't have any more finishes. In the second we did not have a goal until the last 10 or 15 minutes, when after the goal they perhaps unconsciously dropped a little further back and we were able to turn the score around with conviction and attitude until the end.

"What we lacked the least was attitude, what we lacked was quality."