GAME SUMMARY
Portuguese Cup 1st leg
of the semi-final
FINAL RESULT
INT: 1-0
Benfica
1
Sporting
0
bookmark
Carole Costa 33′
In the 1st leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-final, the Portuguese women’s football team Benfica beat Sporting (1-0), this Sunday, March 31, and put themselves at an advantage for the clash that will decide which of the teams will be at the National Stadium, in the final.
No Benfica Campus (Field #1), or President Rui Costa watched the game and saw Benfica approaching the Leonine goal with dangerat 4′.
One ball recovery by Andreia Faria started the play. The average made the pass to Francisca Nazarethwho discovered Chandra Davidson in good position, about right. The Canadian could have shot, but opted to pass to Marie Alidouan action without the intended end, as Ana Borges made the cut.
At 8′, Lúcia Alves served Francisca Nazareth, the forward worked well on Andrea Norheim and shot at goal for Hannah Seabert to save. Sporting reacted and, at 9′, Lena Pauels left goalfast, preventing, with a cut, Olivia Smith from continuing the move.
In a game played at an intense pace, in the 14th minute, the Leonine striker benefited from a loss of the Red ball and shot dangerously. The ball went wide.
From a dead ball, at 19′, Ana Capeta headed and Lena Powell, segura, tied. The three-time national champions responded, and, with mobility in front, Marie Alidou, at 27′, in the green and white area, shot for Seabert to save.
Soon after, at 29′, Lúcia Alves fell in the area in a play with Joana Martins, but referee Sandra Bastos ordered it to play. The ball fell to Francisca Nazareth which he threw at the Sporting goalkeeper.
Under encouragement from the Benfiquistas, the eagles continued with more of the ball and reached the opening goal, following a corner kick. Lucia Alves banged, Chandra Davidson headedHannah Seabert stretched and avoided the attempt, but could do nothing about it. recharge by Carole Costawho opened the game, at 33′.
Sporting didn’t take long to respond. On a counterattack, Olivia Smith shot for a great intervention by Lena Paules for singing (35′).
Leading at half-time, Benfica were more expectant at the start of the second half, without ceasing to attack for sure. At 55′, note the injury of Andreia Bravo, forced to leave, in a moment punctuated by applause from fans of both teams, in addition to the concern of the red players, in a sign of great sportsmanship.
In a phase with some stops, Chandra Davidson tested Hannah Seabert’s attention span with a shot from outside the area, which the opposing goalkeeper saved (58′).
The derby became more open and, at 60′, Lena Paules showed confidence perant or shot by Brittany Raphino. TO german was phenomenal at 62′, in the way he denied Ana Capeta the goal, but the move was preceded by offside.
The visitors bet on quick transitions, but without the ability to make a dent. Benfica tried to hurt again in a Chandra Davidson’s headerwhich did not surprise Seabert (68′).
With many interruptions due to physical injuries, the pace of the match decreased significantly, which is why there were few moves near the areas.
Only in the final stretch, Benfica had blatant opportunities. At 88′, Nycole Raysla served Anna Gasper perfectlybut the German was unable to beat Seabert.
Then, after a corner, the Leonine goalkeeper stopped the header from Laís Araújo, Nycole Raysla failed to seam on reloadthe spherical was left to Carole Costa, who left it to Andreia Norton. A midfielder shot and Maísa Correia cut over the goal line (89′).
In the first of the 10 minutes of compensation, Carole Costa aimed at the rival goalwith a header, but missed the target.
Fair triumph for the reds (1-0), whose calendar has been dense, taking into account the unprecedented presence in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. A 2nd leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-final is scheduled for April, the 21st, at the Aurélio Pereira Stadium. Before that, there is a new derby, in the same location, but referring to the 19th round of the BPI League, on April 14th. For now, national competitions have stopped due to the commitments of the teams.
It should also be noted that, to mark the 110th anniversary of the FPF, inherent to the concept “Football for All”both formations and the refereeing team entered the field alternately, also appearing in front of the fans in this way.
DECLARATIONS
Filipa Patão (Benfica coach): “Thank you to these magnificent fans who were here. It’s a family day, and they proved that they are part of our family. I’m proud of our players for what they did, and for their ability to continue playing for Benfica, regardless of the wear and tear . [Desgaste pelos muitos jogos] Our main objective wasn’t even to prepare the game, it was entirely to recover and try to get the players to understand the game idea we had and they were impeccable. An enormous ability to overcome and understand the game. We lacked some criteria in the definition, largely due to the physical exhaustion we brought. Winning was our objective, of course if we could win by more goals – we had opportunities to do so – that would be ideal. Regardless of the result we got from here, we would always face the Alcochete game to win and we continued with that objective.”
Pauleta (Benfica midfielder): “It was a great game, intense and also beautiful to watch. We knew the volume of games the team has had in recent weeks, but we did our job and won. It’s bittersweet, because we knew we could have done more goals, but the most important thing was the victory and we did it.”
Benfica-Sporting
1-0
Benfica Campus (Field no. 1)
Benfica’s eleven
Lena Pauels, Laís Araújo, Carole Costa, Christy Ucheibe, Lúcia Alves, Andreia Faria, Pauleta (Anna Gasper, 66′), Catarina Amado (Nycole Raysla, 77′), Marie Alidou (Andrea Falcón, 77′), Francisca Nazareth ( Jéssica Silva, 77′) and Chandra Davidson (Andreia Norton, 77′)
Substitutes
Rute Costa, Sílvia Rebelo, Ana Seiça, Anna Gasper (66′), Andreia Norton (77′), Lara Martins, Jéssica Silva (77′), Andrea Falcón (77′) and Nycole Raysla (77′)
Our do Sporting
Hannah Seabert, Ana Borges, Andrea Norheim, Alícia Correia, Brenda Pérez, Joana Martins, Andreia Bravo (Mariana Rosa, 56′; Rita Fontemanha, 84′), Olivia Smith (Maísa Correia, 70′), Ana Capeta, Diana Silva ( Jacynta Gala, 84′) and Brittany Raphino
Substitutes
Carolina Jóia, Bruna Lourenço, Mariana Rosa (56′), Rita Fontemanha (84′), Carolina Santiago, Rita Almeida, Maísa Correia (70′), Ana Teles and Jacynta Gala (84′)
At halftime
1-0
Golo
Benfica: Carole Costa (33′)