Elche, June 29: Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o was the hero, winning a penalty and scoring two goals as Mallorca beat Recreativo Huelva 3-0 to win Spain's King's Cup. Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o played a starring role in Real Mallorca's first King's Cup success as he grabbed two superbly struck goals that helped his side to a 3-0 win over Recreativo Huelva in the final on Saturday (June 28) in Elche. Recreativo, who will be playing in the second division next season, only threatened at the beginning of the match when Raul Molina was denied by a good intervention by Mallorca goalkeeper Leo Franco. Uruguayan striker Walter Pandiani put the islanders ahead on 21 minutes when he smashed home a penalty after Eto'o was hauled down on the goalline by Recre defender Loren. Man of the match Eto'o, who will fly to Paris in the morning of Sunday (June 29) to play for Cameroon in the Confederations Cup final, then struck twice in the second half to wrap up the victory.


His first goal came from a precise left-foot finish after he raced clear of the Recreativo defence and his second arrived 10 minutes later when he skirted past two defenders before firing past goalkeeper Jose Antonio Luque.


It was third time lucky for the islanders who finished as runners-up in their previous two Cup final appearances, losing out 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in 1991 and then in a penalty shootout to Barcelona in 1998.


The win means they join Valencia and Barcelona to complete Spain's trio of representatives in next season's UEFA Cup.


For Recreativo it was a disappointing end to a season in which they were also relegated to division two after just one campaign in the top flight.


King's Cup final summary: Recreativo Huelva 0 Real Mallorca 3 Scorers: Walter Pandiani 21pen, Samuel Eto'o 74, 84 Halftime: 0-1 Attendance: 37,000


Bureau Report