Sailing/ America's Cup:The Spanish contenders Desafio Espanol notched up their first win over Emirates Team New Zealand to close the gap to 2-1 in their Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final at Valencia yesterday. In the second best-of-nine semi, the Italian syndicate Luna Rossa held off BMW Oracle to move 2-1 up.

The closest newcomers Desafio had finished behind the experienced Kiwis was 33 seconds in nine previous encounters, but they got an early advantage when forcing their rivals to give away a penalty in the pre-start.

Team New Zealand were penalised for not keeping clear of a gybing boat and Desafio poked their noses in front for the first time in the semis, rounding the first mark 14 seconds ahead.

Although their lead was cut at the leeward mark, the local favourites, who made mode changes to their boat overnight, resisted and gradually pulled away over the final two legs to record a morale-boosting victory. They crossed the finishing line a commanding 74 seconds ahead, not needing to rely on the penalty, to spark wild celebrations.

Luna Rossa suffered an agonising defeat on Tuesday, but were rarely troubled by their American rivals this time round. Helmsman James Spithill engineered a flying start for Luna Rossa and they led round every mark, as they have done in each of the previous two races, to finish 31 seconds ahead.

The Louis Vuitton Cup final (best of nine) is scheduled for the first week of June, with the winners going on to challenge the Swiss defender, Alinghi, for the America's Cup at the end of the month.