Celta Vigo vs. Alaves: 2017 Spanish Copa del Rey Leg 1 Score, Reaction

Alaves held hosts Celta Vigo to a scoreless draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos on Thursday.

The Galicians dominated before half-time against an Alaves team that rarely ventured out of their own half, but chances were rare. Heavy rain opened up the match a little in the second half, but the Basque side stood firm and preserved the clean sheet.

The hosts began with John Guidetti and Giuseppe Rossi on the bench, giving them plenty of extra weapons to bring on late in the match if needed. Ibai Gomez started for Alaves.

As expected, Celta opened the game with plenty of possession and attacking intent, and Daniel Wass claimed an early free-kick following a foul from Theo Hernandez.

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Iago Aspas failed to hit the target with his first look at the goal, while Deyverson spent the opening stages seeing little of the ball as Alaves sat back with nearly all of their players and absorbed the pressure.

As La Liga's official Twitter account shared, the visitors have quite the reputation for defensive resiliency:

Unsurprisingly, the pace of the match dropped after Celta's fast start, and chances were rare. The home fans were anything but happy, as Alaves served up a drab, dull performance.

Deyverson saw a few long balls launched in his direction, and he threatened once or twice on the counter. But most of the action took place near the opposing box. Wass tried his luck with an ambitious cross that nearly caught the defenders by surprise, but fortunately for Alaves, Victor Laguardia recovered in time.

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Theo Bongonda and Aspas both nearly connected with another inviting cross before the former earned the first booking of the night for a foul on Laguardia. With 10 minutes left to play, the ball popped open in what was easily the most exciting moment of the half.

Sergio Alvarez had to make a late save to deny Manu Garcia, and Theo Hernandez missed the target with a sliced effort before the official called for an end to the half.

Marca summed up the half:

During the course of half-time, the rain intensified, and by the start of the second half, the pitch had taken a beating. Marca shared this image:

The level of play didn't improve in such conditions. Alaves defender Zouhair Feddal cleared cross after cross, frustrating the hosts with his aerial dominance.

Deyverson tried his luck at the other end of the pitch, but Hugo Mallo got in front of the striker to make a good block. Hernandez flashed his speed and almost found the mark with a low drive, but a deflection took the ball into the side netting instead of the goal.

Fernando Pacheco did well to deny Bongonda, who had little time to aim a shot, and Aspas hit the bar with a powerful volley as Celta got closer to a deserved lead.

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Alaves threatened as well, with Alvarez forced into another save by Edgar, and Aspas comically missed the target with a poorly struck shot from a promising position.

Pione Sisto and Guidetti were introduced as Celta hunted for a late goal, and Pablo Hernandez went close, striking the post. Aspas also put Pacheco to work, but Alaves survived, setting themselves up for Wednesday's return leg.

Per La Liga's official Twitter account, Aspas believes he and his team-mates will not alter their approach:

Alaves got lucky a few times in the second half and were aided by the conditions on Thursday. They'll have to be more positive in the return leg, because Celta likely won't miss as many chances again.