Rio Ave 1 Sporting CP 2 (1-4) Taça de Portugal Semi Final
The warm up
Are you starting to get the feeling that with every football season that passes that they now seem to just go on forever? Rather than wanting more, you start getting to the point where you just can't wait for it to end? I felt like that last season towards the end and I'm already feeling it again this one. Maybe it's writing about every game that causes it, who knows? It doesn't help when every game now feels like a Final and the tension is palpable. What I do know is this is the 50th game of the season for Sporting as they travel to Rio Ave for the second leg of the Taça de Portugal 2-0 up from the first leg. This is another game we don't need. Why couldn't it be one leg? Just as we didn't need another two Champions League group games. I'm certainly grateful that despite being Portuguese champions it's Porto and Benfica being sent to the Club World Cup and not us. I'm yet to come across anyone remotely interested in that competition. We don't need more football, just like we don't need another commemorative kit for CR7. Would everyone pleasr stop taking the piss out of fans' loyalty, they're not a bottomless money pit. I guess the only saving grace is at least the ticket prices in Portugal are reasonable especially when compared to those in England. Now if we could just get the TV companies to schedule Sporting games at earlier times week on week we might be able to ensure the next generation begins to not only become invested in the club but stay that way. Other than Farense at home which was a Sunday 1800 hours kick off they've all been after 8pm in the league at the José Alvalade. Away from home better with five 1800 starts from 15 matches so 1 in 3. However 6 in 30 is 1 in 5 overall and I couldn't tell you the last time we had a 3pm kick off on a Saturday. Certainly wasn't one last season though there were a few more 6pm starts at the Alvalade.
With two legs maybe Rio Ave manage to turn the tie around, anything is possible. I say anything, I'm not exactly expecting Tirense to overcome their 5-0 first leg defeat against the dirty pigeons in their reverse fixture. Their game does however perfectly prove my point as to why do we need a two legged semi final? How many Rio Ave fans will make what is actually an away trip for them as well to watch this game taking place at the home of Paços de Ferreira with Ave’s groundout of action? You might be left with a situation where the Sporting fans outnumber those of Rio Ave. It's not a good look for Portuguese football if a semi final is played at a half full stadium.
Yeah
Speaking of things that aren't a good look for Portuguese football, the fallout to Conrad Harder's one game suspension continues following his use of the word yeah when being sent off against Santa Clara. I still can't believe that's actually a thing by the way and not some practical joke, but anyways, the club and fans on Friday night did highlight the absurdity of the situation first as Usher's Yeah was played over the PA and then with fans holding placards with the word which certainly could be seen when Paulinho did his obligatory winding up arm celebration after the game. I wonder if the Yeah Yeah Yeah's smash hit single Heads Will Roll ever charted in Portugal? Would have seemed an equally apt choice of song to play on Friday night. The entire thing is just farcical from start to finish. Presumably now the referees are miked up if he was close enough to the players they have it all on record what was actually said. You imagine that the Portuguese FA will fine Sporting for the music and the fans holding the signs because it's a consistent message from their clown school. Still Sporting won and it's not like Harder would have played a lot of minutes anyways and would be better available for this game as an option to potentially give someone else a rest in the title run in.
I like Lisbon
If someone told me that Gyökeres has told his agent not to tell him of any interest in his services until after the season has finished I'd well believe it, especially after an interview on Portuguese TV post game Friday night. When asked if he likes London, his curt reply was I like Lisbon. The question was a complete and utter dick move and Gyökeres rightly shut him down and made him look an idiot. Be nice if the media showed him some fucking respect like the player himself is doing to the club amd us fans. You won't convince me there's a player in this current squad that doesn't want to win back to back titles more than the Swede. I'd love it that when he eventually goes, it's to anywhere else other than the Premier League. If it has to be the Premier League let it be Manchester City. That would amuse me highly. A boy can dream. Not that I'm a City fan, it just would genuinely tickle me after the London / Lisbon comment that he goes anywhere but a London club.
Saturday night saw the neighbours pull back the gap at the top with a 3-0 win away to Vitória. Maybe the game away to Rio Ave is a nice break from the league…I don't know why I wrote that, it's not. Sporting come into their 50th game of the season now unbeaten in the last 22 games domestically, the last loss coming against Friday night's opponents Moreirense way back in December. That of course means that Rui Borges is yet to be defeated domestically as the new mister. Note I am aware of the Taça da Liga being won by the neighbours on penalties but the laws of the game state that the final result was a draw, Sporting lost a penalty shootout. I don't make those laws.
I'm not sure what the majority of fans think about the new mister, many fans certainly didn't disguise what they felt about João Pereira during his short tenure by comparison. Personally, I've been quietly impressed by the man, by the way he handles himself to the media, his tactics and his flexibility in approach having not been afraid to go back to a 3-4-3. Amorim certainly appears much more inflexible in comparison and way more rigid in his approach to games. The somewhat frightening reality is that Sporting could finish with nothing come the end of May. That won't be Borges fault and yet it does remain a distinct possibility. Even when winning the opening eleven games of the season, Sporting then under Amorim were still only three points clear of second place at that time, it's not as if they were six or seven points ahead. The Supertaça was a freak show having raced to a 3-0 lead only to throw the game away. The Taça da Liga final came down to a penalty kick. This competition will either finish tonight in the semi finals or in a derby against the pigeons in Jamor and the league is too close to call, neither side level at the top again on points can afford to slip up now. If Sporting can win against Boavista, Gil Vicente and Vitória then they'll know a draw is enough in the penultimate game. You'd surely not deliberately try to play for a draw mind you. A loss in that game and the neighbours still have Braga away in the final day although it would depend then on what the score was in the derby to determine who would have the better head to head record. If we're going into the final game dependent on Braga winning for us to lift the title I'm not sure there will be a post that week. I'll have borrowed someone's dog and hidden myself in the countryside on a three hour walk. If that's the case, someone please let me know what happens.
This is supposed to be a Rio Ave post so I'll refocus. Three games played since the first leg for them; They lost at home 2-0 to the then bottom of the league Boavista. There followed a 2-0 win to Moreirense and a 1-1 draw to Santa Clara on Saturday. Feels like we're all in a mini round robin given we've also just played both and face off against Boavista next time out in the league. I remember writing last season that I'd gladly sacrifice the Taça de Portugal if it meant winning the league and I'd happily do it again this time around. Football as we know doesn't work like that and I could end up with egg on my face. Given its Easter Sunday as I write that could be a chocolate egg but that would be scant consolation. It would be nice if a team outside of the Big 3 could win one of the two Taça's though. Maybe I'm just like a foreign player coming into England having to have the magic of the FA Cup explained to me. This tournament just doesn't hold any importance for me albeit don't quote me on that if we do lineup against the neighbours in Jamor. I don't need teaching of the importance in that context and especially if their name has been written on the league trophy. It'll be a very long summer if we finish empty handed and the neighbours come away with a treble and we're sat watching this side being broken up and sold to the highest bidder. For now their are stories to be written, players with the chance to write their redemption song be that Pedro Gonçalves after his long lay off, Trincão after his penalty miss in the Taça da Liga or Biel who's move in January hasn't worked out. I feel for the lad. The only time I've seen him really is post game in front of the fans doing the thunder clap looking to the side at another player for the timing. He's like a little boy lost. This has been Conrad Harder's tournament in terms of goals scored for Sporting. Maybe he'll have the chance to shout Yeah in celebration again and it not end in an idiotic one game ban.
For a more detailed look of recent form for Rio Ave there's more can be found here from the post of the first leg;
https://outsideofthepride.blogspot.com/2025/03/sporting-cp-v-rio-ave-taca-de-portugal.html
In truth I and everyone else should be grateful for the opportunity to watch Gyökeres for another 90 minutes as he completes his farewell tour. We've had a year to adjust to the fact he's going this summer and I'm sure none of us have even started to say goodbye. Losing Coates last summer was incredibly emotional. Please let us be saying goodbye and thank you to Viktor as a back to back league winner. He's the most deserving of such an accolade. Match balls, man of the match trophies, top goalscorer, best player in Portugal will all be scant consolation to the man in the mask. Before the mask no one knew who I was - Well they certainly do now. For Coventry he played 97 games, this rather handily will be his 97th game as a Lion. 40 goals for the Sky Blues, he's 50 ahead of that mark for Sporting. With a potential six games left you wouldn't bet against him reaching a century of goals. Even if he hit that marker he'd be honest and tell you he could and should have had more. That's just the marker of the man as a person, he's a born winner. It's starting to feel real now. I'm going to think about anything else instead of him going.
In the markets
Rio Ave 17/2
Draw 4/1
Sporting CP 1/3
Team News
Starting XI
Silva, St Juste, Diomande, Inácio, Fresneda, Hjulmand, Debast, Reis, Trincão, Gyökeres and Gonçalves
Substitutes
Israel, Harder, Araújo, Biel, Esgaio, Quenda, Quaresma and Felicíssimo
After a gap of 31 games Pedro Gonçalves returns to the starting XI in place of Geny. Fresneda swaps once more wide right with Quenda, Reis in wide left for Araújo. At the back St Juste swaps with Quaresma. No place in the matchday squad for Arreíol as Harder returns to the bench having served his ludicrous one match suspension. Gonçalves announced midweek that he's to become a father for the first time. Now seems a good time to roll put the ball up the jersey celebration as ever.
In a double hammer blow not only are we having to play an extra game that only exists for financial benefit over that of a footballing need, it kicks off at 2045 hours. I might actually cry if this game goes into extra time. Not because Rio Ave will have turned over a 2-0 lead from the first leg, I'm just all footballed out. I'm even non plussed about the return of Goncalves. Let's just hope the club are managing his return better than that of both Quaresma and Morita at varying points during the season who both have been doing the okey cokey with a continuance of returning followed by another injury. I'm his two substitute appearances Gonçalves looks a world away from providing a positive contribution. May he prove me wrong tonight.
First half
I'm not being unkind when I say firstly Rio Ave's season rests on the result of this game and secondly their fans clearly have no belief they can turn things around as there's barely a soul in the ground to witness this game. Sporting once more in black with green and white horizontal stripes.
The home side get us underway, Sporting attack right to left in the opening 45. Will Clayton spend more time on his feet or on the ground tonight?
1 Clayton cuts inside from the right and gets a low shot away from 17 yards straight into the arms of Rui Silva
2 Free kick as Reis takes no prisoners with a challenge from behind and is a little fortunate to escape a yellow card
2 The same can probably be said for Clayton on the other side of the pitch moments later as he smashes into St Juste leaving the Dutch defender needing treatment
5 This game has the feeling of a Johnstone Paint Trophy first round game rather than the semi final of Portugal's so called Premier cup competition
6 Reis bursts into the box between two defenders and gets a shot away from the left eight yards out which goes through the legs of another defender and is saved by Miszta. That oddly came from a really poorly controlled pass from Gonçalves to the Brazilian
8 Miszta equal to Gyökeres shot having raced clear of his marker. You'd have expected him to score there from 17 yards. The keeper does really well to get down low to his left
9 Reis passes the ball wide left with no teammate in sight. Shades of Renato Sanches at Swansea famously passing to the advertising hoardings when he was in the Premier League there
10 Corner to Sporting from the left results in the first GOAL. Rio Ave 0 Sporting CP 1. Inácio heads home from 5 yards, St Juste ducked as the ball came in which allowed for the defender to have a cleaner effort with him stood two yards behind. A rare goal from a corner kick this season. 3-0 on aggregate. I couldn't see Ave coming back from 2-0 let alone 3-0
14 Gonçalves seemingly fouled outside the area but no free kick was given. Diomande goes into Clayton from behind who goes down like Jenga and then sits up like a Jack in the box with the handle half way around ready to pop up. The Ivorian protests his innocence.
20 Dropped shoulders from Gonçalves as his shot blocked from 16 yards. See his general demeanor hasn't improved whilst injured
23 Gyökeres looks a yard off it tonight albeit Gonçalves looks two yards off it and Trincão maybe three.
26 I wonder what it's like for Rio Ave playing at home in a ground with four sides. Certainly looks better on the eye than the Estádio dos Arcos
27 I'm not sure Gyökeres is going to last tonight's game. He heads over a cross from the left from 6 yards under pressure. He's definitely not his normal self.
29 Another poor pass from Gonçalves to Trincão. He then slips trying to cross inside the box. Good job we're 3-0 up and Rio Ave aren't presenting any type of threat. If Biel doesn't get an extended run in the second half he never will
31 Rui Silva with a fantastic save from 6 yards from Andre. Wouldn't have counted as Clayton was a yard offside in the buildup but nonetheless I'm taking nothing away from Silva who has to play to the whistle
32 Yellow to St Juste who chops Graca down. That was poor. Everyone seems incredibly lethargic almost like there's a bug that's gone through the camp
33 Oh dear Andre Luiz won't want to see that shot again as he blasts wide from 9 yards
34 Whistles as Miszta rushes out of his goal and a question over whether he handled it. Referee didn't think so. Just before the Luiz miss the ball had hit the hand of Gyökeres inside the area but no penalty given
35 Effort from 20 yards saved easily by Rui Silva. Replay shows Miszta does chest the ball in fairness
37 Ball cannons wildly from the Sporting box to Gyökeres on the half way line. He was off to the races but didn't even manage to get his shot away. Someone take him off, tuck him into bed with a couple of aspirin and a teddy bear and sing him lullabies
39 Varandas watches on next to the female director from Rio Ave who are in a competition to see who can look more bored. It's neck and neck.
40 Reis with a great ball in from the left which evades everyone and goes through the other side.
41 Clayton throws himself at the ball inside the box and not for the first time finds St Juste instead.
41 Soft free kick as Andre Luiz takes a tumble under pressure from Inácio.
42 Good position for Rio Ave here. Three man wall does it's job as the free kick from 24 yards goes straight into it. Would have taken one hell of a strike to have got that anywhere near the right hand corner of the goal. Gyökeres actually took that full on in the face. Told you to tuck him up in bed
Plus one shown
Half time
Rio Ave 0 Sporting CP 1
I can hand on heart say Sporting have been awful that half which to those observant amongst you should leave you asking how bad have Rio Ave been in that case if the lions go in leading 1-0 at half time? Gonçalves I can forgive for being poor given the length of his lay off. Trincão has played more minutes than anyone else. Gyökeres... Well he is human after all. Reis has been guilty of misplaced passes, the back three have all been guilty of making poor challenges. Fresneda has offered very little wide right, Hjulmand and Debast average at best. Literally Rui Silva could sit in the stands second half and still walk away with my man of the match award he's been the only player I can offer any credit to.
For all Gyökeres twisting and turning there's zero end product and the Swede on recent form would have had two goals to his name. If you'd never seen him play and we're tuning in for the first time tonight to see what all the fuss is about you'd be left thinking it's all hype and bluster. If Rio Ave were any good we'd be in a whole heap of shit right now. Some how we're not and it's 3-0 on aggregate. You want the likes of Harder and Biel to be shouting at Borges at half time to get them in and give them 45 minutes to prove their worth. Esgaio could look world class compared to the ten outfield that first half.
Second half
Sporting get us back underway. If the first half wasn't bad enough we had to suffer Sweet fucking Caroline over the PA System at half time. Geny is on presumably in place of Gonçalves. Didn't see the change and I think the TV studio is on strike because I'm not sure they've displayed confirmation of it either.
46 Geny slips and takes a huge chunk of turf with him as his shot from 17 yards is straight at the keeper
46 Yellow for Andreas for pulling back Gyökeres. Free kick 25 yards out to the left
48 Trincão tries to find St Juste far post but headed clear for a corner
49 Borges head bowed with his face in his hands. We all know the feeling
49 GOAL. Rio Ave 0 Sporting CP 2. Gyökeres slots home. Shot from inside the D from Geny was heading for the bottom left hand corner. Smart save down low from Miszta but it went straight to Gyökeres who had the easy task of slotting it home from close range
51 Esgaio readied on the sides
53 Big cheer for Esgaio’s arrival on the sides as Debast makes his way off the pitch very slowly. Gonçalves was indeed the player to make way at half time
57 Great neat and tidy possession from Esgaio in midfield. He's looking a natural in there at present
59 Trincão fires a tame shot through the legs of a defender from 16 yards. Bread and butter for Miszta who's had another good night for Rio Ave. I wonder if anyone's keeping an eye on the 23 year old Pole
60 Andreas has the ball in the net with a smart effort low into the left hand corner from ten yards. Notice the absence of the word goal as he was a yard offside
62 Free kick wide right for the home side. Can they salvage some pride? Nope.
63 Incredibly it's still Rio Ave 0 Sporting CP 2. Not sure how. Presumably there's not goal line technology at the Paços stadium as the ball looked to have hit the bar, bounced down over the line and up onto the bar again and to safety.
65 GOAL Rio Ave 1 Sporting CP 2. Clayton lays the ball on a plate for Andre Luiz who slots past the onrushing Silva. Feels the right reward if that ball did cross the line and the goal wasn't previously given.
66 Trincão and Gyökeres depart for Harder and Biel. Standing ovation for the Swede.
68 They've shown the replay of the shot which bounced down and to be fair there looks like white line involved but it was tight. Pohlmann had the shot from 16 yards
69 Clayton heads wide from 8 yards. Home side in the ascendency right now
71 Yellow to Andre Luiz who pulls Biel down. He was off and flying in the centre.
72 Bakoulas yellow for a shirt pull on Geny. They're desperate to swap shirts before the end of the game these Rio Ave boys
73 Miszta quickly off his line to snuff out the danger from Fresneda inside the six yard box. Spaniard looks like he's struggling a bit as he goes to take a throw
75 Pohlmann who had been playing wide right has come out to the left. He's looked good since coming on.
75 Harder tries from 30 yards but straight at the keeper. That came from good play in the centre by Biel again
77 Vitor Gomes takes a lump out of Harder. He's not amused as the Rio Ave player offers his hand to help him up. Israel, Gyökeres and Trincão giggle like schoolboys watching on from the bench. Unlike Harder they clearly are amused
78 Miszta rushes out to clear from Harder. Dane is given offside which is funny given his run started behind the last defender. Had he won that foot race goal would have stood
80 Vrousai fires wide of the left post from 20 yards
72 Araújo replaces St Juste. Big smile from the Dutch defender who embraces Borges and notably towers over the mister
85 Araújo pops up wide right and just like against Moreirense opts not to shoot when in a good position. Don't imagine Gonçalves or Trincão would have done the same
85 Biel with a lovely dinked pass to Araújo but the ball bobbles agonisingly over his foot
86 Shot of Quenda on the bench. Bang goes his chance of appearing in every game this season. These things clearly matter little to the mister.
88 Great balance from Biel again, slows play down and puts the ball out wide right
Plus three shown
1 Harder too selfish in the end loses the ball having not played Biel in on the left and opting to go right and then tried to cut back onto his left and was dispossessed
Full time
Rio Ave 1 Sporting CP 2
Aggregate score
Rio Ave 1 Sporting CP 4
The Final Word
Sporting book their place in the final of the Taça de Portugal in Jamor. Rio Ave to their credit had a good ten to fifteen minute spell in the second half where they could have at least come away with a respectable draw but the Lions held on for the win to make it 4-1 on aggregate. Rio Ave can have little complaints over the 180 minutes played. You hope the Portuguese FA look at this scoreline and the fact the other game is already 5-0 at the half way stage and decide that semi finals should from now one be a one legged affair like the Taça da Liga. Paços probably aren't complaining if they've picked up a few euros from the sale of food and beverages but you know I'm scraping the barrel for positives when I'm writing that.
The second half was definitely more entertaining than the first but I'm not going to try convince you that the quality of the game was any better, far be it for me to insult your intelligence. With Rio Ave playing for pride the space did open up in all areas of the pitch and both sides began to exploit that from the wings. Pohlmann certainly caused Sporting issues and their coach Petit will have been left wishing he'd started with him in his original XI. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. In truth the scoreline could have been bigger with both keepers more than playing their parts at keeping it down. The lions may have scored twice but they were equally as guilty of forgetting their shooting boots as Miszta was to be credited for his performance.
Fresneda improved second half. Hauling off Gyökeres, Gonçalves and Trincão was the right move. OK the Swede made it goal 91 in Sporting colours but he was poor tonight but certainly better than Trincão and you'll not convince me that starting Gonçalves was the right choice on that display. I feel sorry for Quenda for not being afforded the chance to feature in every game but if he misses just the one appearance that will still be a debut season he'd never have envisaged in his wildest dreams I'm sure.
Was the ball over the line in the 63rd minute? I genuinely wouldn't like to say either way it was that close. I don't know if they have goal line technology in Liga 2 grounds either. It did however feel right that if it did cross the line that they at least got their goal two minutes later. Great pass from Clayton to leave St Juste stranded on an island without a boat or a paddle. At least Clayton spend the majority of the game on his feet tonight. He's clearly got some talent but players like that infuriate the life out of me with their constant cheating and simulation. That being said our Viktor has been guilty of the same thing in the last two games but no where near the same degree as the Rio Ave forward. I don't want to see it from any player.
I'm left wondering if tonight's performance was down to the fact they've now played 50 games or was there some type of illness in the camp? They definitely didn't look right on the eye in the first half. I'll not lose sleep over it here but if it happens again I'll shit enough bricks that builders might want to give me a call. If you said to me 2-2 was a fairer result tonight it's not a hill I'd want to die on arguing against you. However if the ball on the line was actually over the line then they don't score two minutes later because there's a kick off and blah blah blah. So it's all relative I guess. Anyways even at 4-2 that leaves the same deficit from the first leg and my argument remains we didn't need a second game and thus nothing would have changed.
So that leaves my man of the match. Well at half time as I wrote there was only one candidate in Silva. Geny looked good for five minutes and then dropped off. Harder looked like an excited puppy just smashing into everything. Esgaio looked controlled in parts in midfield but then gave you some same old Ricardo at the same time. Araújo one of these days is going to wrap his foot around a chance and either send it into row Z or bag the goal of the season. I'm all for teamwork but sometimes when the shot is on then just take it. That's twice in two games I've felt he should have wrapped his foot around it. Hjulmand had a steady 7 in midfield. Maybe a 6.5 but he did better than most. I've discounted the back 3 and forward 3 that started. Debast was behind Hjulmand in terms of performance. So do I give it to Silva or do I give it to Biel who really impressed me when he came on? He was showing a clean pair of heels when he got pulled back in the centre of midfield. He looked bright, full of enthusiasm, distributed the ball well and was the most entertaining player on the eye from a Sporting perspective. Don't judge me, I know it was only 24 minutes of football but I'm going to give it to Biel. Largely because the rest of his teammates, Silva excluded weren't ever really at the races. Maybe Fresneda had the better second half overall attacking and defensively however he dropped a bollock in the opening 45. Silva was beaten once for a legitimate goal, the one that went in or possibly didn't go over the line and again for a disallowed goal so he didn't cover himself in glory like he did the opening 45. Have I justified myself enough? I think so. Biel it is. There's a player in there, he just needs the chance to shine and he shone enough for me tonight. Good on him.
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