Miraculous Mirandés marches on

It was the most important goal of a career that began at Athletic Bilbao and has passed through Sevilla, Salamanca, Racing, Eibar and Cádiz, among others: "I saw the gap and just stuck my head in," Mirandés defender César Caneda neatly summed up the strike that fired a capacity crowd at the Estadió Anduva to delirium.

"The whole of Miranda is going to get drunk tonight," laughed a fan of the third-division side. Employers in the town of nearly 40,000 probably won't mind. This is the sort of story that comes around once per generation of soccer players.

Mirandés has a budget of one million euros - roughly what Cristiano Ronaldo costs Real Madrid for four games - and a stadium that holds 6,000 supporters. In a remarkable run to the last four of Spain's domestic cup knockout competition it has beaten Villarreal, Racing and now Espanyol. The tournament's top scorer is Pablo Infante, a former amateur who took his professional bow for Mirandés in the fourth division in 2005. "Thank you Spain," the winger said after the match. It was not overdone; an entire country has united behind the miraculous minnows of Miranda, which now finds itself two matches away from a probable berth in next season's Europa League.

"Without the support of the players, the board and the fans I would be nothing. I am happy because I am in the right place at the right time. It's something to tell the grandkids: we have a date with history," said Mirandés coach Carlos Pouso.

The dream had seemed a distant one when Rui Fonte scored for the visitor on the stroke of half time, leaving Mirandés 4-2 down on aggregate. But a vociferous crowd, a never-say-die attitude and some technical tweaking on the part of Pouso saw Infante equalize on 57 minutes before Caneda, the only Mirandés player to have set foot in La Primera, "stuck his head in" in the final minute.

A good old-fashioned pitch invasion ensued, with jubilant supporters carrying their players like matadors through the great gate. Next up on the point of Mirandés' sword will be either Athletic Bilbao or Mallorca. The small club from Burgos province is 180 minutes from the greatest fairytale of the season; a whole nation is willing them to write the next chapter.