VALENCIA, Spain -- Gareth Bale filled the void left by the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, sealing Real Madrids 19th Copa del Rey title with a late goal in Wednesdays 2-1 win over Barcelona. Ronaldos extra-time play gave Madrid the 2011 Copa del Rey title at Barcelonas expense. In his absence Wednesday, Bale scored in the 85th minute -- his first goal in three "clasico" matches -- to make sure Madrid repeated the feat. Angel Di Maria scored Madrids opener from a counterattack in the 11th minute, capitalizing on a Barcelona lineup that seemed to lack ideas in attack and was slow to recover in defence. Defender Marc Bartra equalized against the run of play in the 67th by heading in from a corner kick to ruin goalkeeper Iker Casillas record run of not conceding in this edition of the tournament. The goal appeared to energize Barcelona, sparking Lionel Messi into action and ensuring the last 15 minutes became a frenetic back-and-forth contest. But with the game hanging in the balance, Bale got the winner when he sprinted down the left side of the pitch, even running out of bounds to avoid Bartra, before racing into the area and rolling the ball under goalkeeper Jose Pinto. "It is difficult to see a player be able to sprint like that at that stage of the game," Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said. "The game was going our way after we had levelled, until that counterattack." Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said the goal was "surely the most important" of Bales career, which took a major turn last summer when Madrid broke its own spending record to pay his (euro)100-million transfer to pry him from Tottenham. "It was a decisive moment. When Bartra scored anything could have happened," Ancelotti said. Barcelona, however, still had one last chance, only for Neymars shot to hit the upright in the 90th. Neymars last-gasp effort almost "scared us to death," Casillas said. "Fortune was on our side, and we are thankful for it." Ronaldo joined his teammates to celebrate with their fans on the pitch before the team filed past King Juan Carlos to receive their medals and the prized trophy. The plane carrying the Spanish monarch had technical problems that delayed take-off, but he arrived on time to watch the match along with more than 50,000 spectators divided into large sections of white and blue-and-burgundy club colours. After failing to win the cup competition between 1993 and 2011, Madrid has won it twice in the last four years. Ancelotti earned his first trophy for Madrid and first "clasico" win after losing his first two meetings with Barcelona, and his team will now focus on overtaking Atletico Madrid in the league and its Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich. The loss is a setback for Barcelona and a major blow to Martino. In an eight-day span, Barcelona exited Europes top-tier competition with a loss, slipped to third place in the Spanish league, and then lost Copa del Rey to its fiercest rival. "It has been a hard week on all fronts," said Martino, who remains confident of hanging on to his job for one more season. "As I have said for one, two, three months now, I dont feel that my future has changed because of all that we lost, and nor do I think it would be different if we had won." Barcelona will now have to catch both Madrid and Atletico with only five rounds left in the Spanish league to make sure it doesnt end the season without a major piece of silverware for the first time since the arrival of Pep Guardiola in 2008-09. Nick Mullens Super Bowl Jersey . -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation. Kyle Juszczyk Super Bowl Jersey . Cammalleri scored two goals, Corban Knight netted the winner in a shootout, and the Flames erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Stars 4-3 on Friday night. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Youth-Jeff-Wilson-Jr-49ers-Jersey/ . Thornton emerged as one of the leagues best defensive ends against the run in 2013. The former undrafted free agent from Division II Southern Arkansas led Philadelphias linemen with 78 tackles and had one sack. Ronnie Lott Super Bowl Jersey . A night later, he was back to help lead a rout of the Detroit Pistons. John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, and Beal scored 10 of his 15 points during the second quarter as Washington pulled away for a 106-82 victory on Saturday. 49ers Super Bowl Jerseys . - A pitch clock will be used this season during minor league games at Triple-A and Double-A, but it has been ruled out for the major leagues this year.Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is now only two wins away from capturing the 1,000th win of his illustrious career. Krzyzewskis squad got back on track Saturday with a 63-52 victory over the sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals. Amile Jefferson scored 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds for the fourth-ranked Blue Devils (15-2, 3-2 ACC), who avoided dropping three straight ACC games for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign. Jahlil Okafor added 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbed seven boards for Duke, which shot 48.8 percent from the field and went 17-of-23 from the foul line. Terry Rozier ended with 17 points for the Cardinals (15-3, 3-2), who have lost two of three. Montrezll Harrell tallied 10 points and 14 rebounds.dddddddddddd Trailing 12-9, Duke put together a 17-2 run to gain control. Jefferson tallied six points during the surge that Quinn Cook capped with a 3-pointer for a 26-14 edge. After taking a 30-20 lead into the locker room, the Blue Devils started the second half on a 12-2 spurt. Okafor scored four points during the burst, including a layup with 15:35 remaining to make it 42-22. Louisville used a late run to make the score a little better. Game Notes The Blue Devils improved to 6-4 all-time against Louisville ... Tyus Jones had 10 points and eight assists for Duke ... The Cardinals shot just 29.5 percent from the field and went 4-of-25 from beyond the arc. ' ' '