Paços de Ferreira 2 Sporting CP 3

Paços de Ferreira v Sporting CP 

Saturday October 18th, 2025

Estádio de Capital do Móvel 

Taça de Portugal Round 3

The warm up

Domestic football will return after a two week long international hiatus with an away trip to Liga 2 side Paços de Ferreira in the Taça de Portugal. The lions in case you'd forgotten, the current holders of Portugal's premier domestic cup competition. I mean let's be honest it would be hard to forget about it given the neighbours are still bitching about the loss on a weekly basis in a modern twist of Aesop's fable about The Fox and the Sour Grapes. 

Paços have already faced Sporting B this season in the league losing 3-0 so I guess that would provide Rui Borges plenty of confidence if he wanted to ring the changes from the side that drew at home to Braga last time out and give some of the youngsters a chance. The goals in the August 31st fixture came from Flávio Gonçalves, Mauro Couto and Rodrigo Ribeiro. 

Sporting B

I'm going to segue early into my sidebar about the lion cubs with it being an international break at the time of writing. Their 4-0 away win to Leixoes last Sunday sees them top of the table. Ribeiro opened the scoring on 19 minutes with a shot from the right, level with the six yard box which deflected off a defender and over Miguel Morro. On 23 minutes a goal of real quality as José Silva cut in from the right wing and pinged one into the top right hand corner from 19 yards. Any hope the home side had of getting back into the game after the break was quickly dashed as Nel collected the ball on the half way line, outpaced the defenders trying to track back and slotted home from 8 yards to put the result beyond doubt. The icing on the cake came on 57 minutes as Nel converted a penalty, smashing the ball home high down the centre to complete his brace and Morro’s misery. Probably worth noting that the penalty award starts with the pull of a Sporting player's shirt which was akin to that of Hjulmand’s shirt pull in the evening, a timely reminder to be careful what you lay claim to being a penalty or not. 

Of the 16 players to have featured in the game, Pontelo who came on as substitute was the elder statesman at the grand old age of 22. Callai, Justo, Besugo, Moreira and Oliveira 21. Dias, Muniz, Silva, Ribeiro, Nel and Mendonca 20. Cardoso the lone wolf at 18. Finally G.Silva, Blopa and Gonçalves all relative babies at the tender age of 18. Compare that to the opposition whose youngest starting player was 21. In the centre of defence the grizzly Brazilian veteran Naldo at 37 is old enough to be everyone's Dad apart from David Moreira if he legally started popping kids out at 16. Two 34 year olds and two 30 year olds, this was a side supposedly packed with experience who were no match to handle the pace and skill of the youngsters. Their average starting age 27, Sporting's just 20. 

I've made this point before so apologies to regular readers but there's always a danger new signings block the development path of what is clearly a group of talented youngsters into the first team. I still don't believe for a single second that the club were serious about the purchase of Kevin or Yeremay in the summer past the point of going how much and you've got to be joking. Social media then fuels the discussion about both players built on nothing but thin air and some quarters then groan about the clubs perceived lack of ambition and failure to sign either player not taking into account once they knew the asking price it was always going to be bids out of the David Sullivan play book. We'll increase it incrementally by small amounts, leak it to the press and then we can say we tried but it wasn't our fault. Instead we're slowly being drip fed Alisson Santos who is wetting the appetites of the vast majority of fans eager to see what he can do when the original plan was to have him spend the season with Sporting B. Maybe it was written in the stars. Well if you believe that sort of bollocks. He certainly benefited from the failure to get the deal for Jack Grealish sycophant Jota Silva over the line on deadline day. A sliding doors moment I believe that is known as. Speaking of criticism I heard someone mention on a podcast last week that online posts which criticise people or institutions get ten times the volume of traffic for an article. The English press have been hounding Ruben Amorim at Manchester United for the past few weeks and Saturday they beat Sunderland 2-0 and suddenly the pundits had to turn their attentions elsewhere so Mo Salah got put under the microscope. They need a victim to constantly justify their existence and pay cheques which seems an incredibly sad state of affairs if you ask me.

Back to Liga 2, all credit to the coaches at that level following their promotion last season. They're certainly performing way above expectations and whilst there's no guarantee it will last for a full season, each player will be knocking on the door of the first team. Long may it continue and a special mention has to go to João Pereira for his work in helping lay the foundations previous to João Giao’s arrival and to Ruben Amorim for his philosophy which has allowed the continuity which sees players from the youth team transition into the first team with such relative ease time and time again. 

Sporting CP Feminino 

Tuesday night saw the ladies host FC Rosengård in the UEFA Women's Europa Cup. 450 people were treated to a free nights entertainment as the lionesses won 3-0. Phenomenal strike from just inside the area from Madison Haugen on 38 minutes into the far right corner making it 1-0 at half time. The genuine excitement in her celebration was wonderful to see. Carolina Santiago continued her excellent start to the season as she tapped home at the near post on 59 minutes, finished off with her trademark binoculars celebration. The final goal came four minutes into injury time as Flor Bonseguendo scored for the second straight game late on with a sublime touch to lob the keeper from 10 yards. The visitors not without their chances during the game but a well deserved victory for the ladies nonetheless. The return leg in Sweden on Wednesday October 15th. Next up in the Nacional Femino is Maritímo away on Saturday at 11am. 

Maritímo 0 Sporting CP 4

The lionesses moved top of the table after a convincing away win. The neighbours ladies a point behind play away to Valadares Gaia tomorrow at 11am. Madison Haugen opened the scoring on 15 minutes with an audacious goal from the left wing that left the keeper flat footed and waving at wasps. American Brittany Raphino scored a second half hat-trick to put the gloss on the victory. 

FC Rosengård 2 Sporting CP 2 

After a bright start the lionesses finally broke the deadlock on 28 minutes after a great passing move. Beatriz Fonseca providing the assist for Cláudia Neto to dink the ball over the onrushing keeper from 7 yards. The home side equalised through a 20 yard pile driver which flew into the top right hand corner on 46 minutes to make it 1-1 on the night. Sporting regained the lead as Maísa Correira found the clubs new goalscoring sensation Carolina Santiago. The youngster with one touch to control inside the box then calmly slotted home from 12 yards into the bottom left hand corner. The home side weren't done however as they made it 2-2 on 61 minutes with a looping volley from 17 yards into the bottom left hand corner. Final score 2-2, the lionesses progress to the Round of 16 5-2 on aggregate. The draw takes place on Friday. 

Paços de Ferreira 

Paços go into the game third bottom although they can boast that they top both Benfica and Porto whose B sides occupy the bottom two in the table. You imagine Sporting B being top of the table really smarts. Shame. In the last eight meetings between the two sides, eight straight wins for Sporting with an aggregate scoreline of 19-0. The last time Paços scored against the lions is just shy of six years ago when they lost 2-1 on October 31st, 2019. The last time they beat the lions was in the May of 2013, albeit they've not played each other following PdF’s relegation in the 22/23 season. If Adobe aren't their shirt sponsor they've missed a trick or possibly a decent marketing manager. 

Given where they sit in the table it won't surprise you to learn I'm about to insult your intelligence by saying their start to the season hasn't gone great. Played seven, won 0, drawn 5 and lost 2. Goals for 5, goals against 9 so Sporting B currently account for a third of their goals conceded. Usually you'd suggest that a cup game comes as a welcome rest from the league but I'll guess the bean counters were more thrilled with the draw than the players against a Sporting team who probably got a rocket up the arse after their performance at home to Braga last time out. They're clearly in need of a goalscorer having managed one more goal than sending’s off this season having already accumulated four red cards to date. João Pinto is definitely on the naughty seat with half of those to his name alone. Costinha top scorer with 2 and a goal apiece for Anilson, João Victor and Rafael Vieira.

Their campaign began with a 2-1 loss at home to Vizela who look like favourites for promotion even at this early stage. A 0-0 draw away to Adacemico Viseu and the same result at home to União de Leiria. The aforementioned 3-0 defeat at Alcochete was followed up with another 0-0 away to Torreense. Finally a win away to Nazarenos 1-0. What's the Portuguese for how shit must you be, we're winning away? That win booked them their place in the next round of the Taça against Sporting. Finally some more goals with a double Desmond! 2-2 at home to Porto B and last time out away to Oliveirense and that brings you all up to date. 

As for the transfer incomings and outgoings, well I really can't be arsed to try and source them. It's international break, you do the math if you want to know and add it into the comments below. OK fuck off I know you love it really so I'll throw you all a bone or two. The ex-Sporting player Antunes retired in the summer and they sold 23 year old Ivan Pavlic to Champions League debutants Union St.Gilloise for £250,000. 

6,024 spectators in attendance totalled across 3 home games this season so the visit of Sporting should if nothing else provide them with some sort of much needed cash injection. 30,285 total spectators last season at an average gate of 1,781. Whilst the football team haven't played Sporting since the 2022/23 season, their ground has played host to them after Rio Ave were forced to move their home fixture in last season's Taça de Portugal semi-final. I'm not sure that was of much financial benefit to Paços either given it was pretty much a dead rubber after the first leg and unsurprisingly the crowd in attendance was somewhat sparse on the night officially listed at 3,073. But maybe if you attach too much weight to omens then fill your boots they we're playing in the same stadium that took us en route to the final and the trophy win last time around. Some people have some weird superstitions. What can I say? 

The Estádio Capital do Móvel has a capacity of 9,076 and has been renovated twice since opening in 1973. A new curva nord (no idea what north is in Portuguese) opened in 2017 increased the capacity to what it is now which seems incredibly ambitious if they couldn't fill it when it was smaller. Still it is somewhat of a rarity in Portuguese football in that the ground has four stands and not only that but three of them are covered as well. Talk about luxury. I'll assume for all in attendance other than away fans who no doubt get thrown in the uncovered end behind one of the goals. You might watch your team getting battered but at least you could have the satisfaction of doing so in the dry. Small wins, take them where you can.

Currently coached by Felipe Candido, they play traditionally in yellow and green and were founded in April of 1950 so now 75 years young. In the 2012/13 season which we've already established was the last time they'd beaten Sporting, they finished third in the top flight which saw them enter the Champions League qualifiers albeit they lost to Zenit St Petersburg, thus ending up competing in the Europa League and failed to register a win in their six games. In the 2021/22 campaign they lost their Conference League qualifier to Spurs. Sporting recently played Napoli where Maradona is still very much King, Paços is home to Marafona which sounds very much like a wonderful knock off brand from the 1980s you might have been offered living on a council estate. 

I searched under a lot of rocks trying to find something interesting to write about Paços de Ferreira as a place which could have been a very literal meaning were you to visit because much of it appears to be historic ruins. Their one claim to fame is that it's Portugal's capital of furniture with around 5,000 businesses producing goods in the area. It's also home to IKEA'S industrial operation within Portugal which pardon my French seems a cuntish move on their part to base themselves there. ‘Can I interest you in this hand built high quality table sir? No? You're going with the flat pack Swedish bollocks. Well fuck you very much.’ It seems the most interesting place to go in Paços is to drive the 25 kilometre distance to Porto. I'm sure it's a very nice town to visit… if you happen to be 70 years old and still relatively mobile. Oh and allegedly, because I don't trust Google translate, the stadium's name means the stadium of the capital of furniture. So there you go. 

October admin

In a vote by the players union Luis Suárez won player of the month awards for both August and September. 

Pedro Gonçalves has renewed his contract until 2030. 

Adrien Silva has announced his retirement from the game. A player I loved watching in the green and white of Sporting. I was genuinely gutted when he departed and wish him all the best in his future endeavours whatever they may be. 

Confirmation by the club that Mateus Reis will be free to talk to parties in January as he'll become a free agent in the summer with new contract on the table for the 30 year old defender. 

We need to talk about Quenda 

The older I get the more miserable I get and quite frankly I was never that cheerful to begin with. So when I write what follows you can add that as a caveat. Maybe an unpopular opinion but I personally do not see Geovany Quenda having a big future ahead of him in football unless someone has the foresight to turn him into a right back somewhere down the line because actually if he has ever impressed me it's always been defensively. Now it could be that I've been spoiled in watching Rafael Leão the handful of times he played in the green and white down the left flank. I've watched an entire season with Nuno Mendes as left wing back. I'm also a huge admirer of Geny Catamo’s and it's not like I want Quenda to not succeed, I just don't see anything special when I watch him play for Sporting on the right especially when compared to those I've seen operate on the left flank. It's one thing that you can do it for the Portugal Under 21s against a team of youngsters from the Polish third division but when you can't even show it against an AVS or an Estoril then you're not going to convince me you're destined for the big time in West London. Part of me thinks Chelsea could flip him without ever playing him, that we could watch him go straight back out on loan for at least twelve months if not more. He might play a few times but I'll be amazed if he's ever stood holding up a shirt with even 50 on the back for his total number of appearances. Someone had posted a set of statistics like he was a massive baller after the Braga game. Shots on target 100% and I think the other one was aerial duels won 100%. Both times that 100% equated to 1 from 1. His shot on target came in about the 3rd minute from memory and whilst yes it was on target it carried an XG of 0.02 which for those of you not ofay with metrics, to put it into plain English - he needn't have fucking bothered. I genuinely meant it when I wrote after the game I'd rather have had Ricardo Esgaio playing out wide on the right on the night. 

His best performance for me came in this very same competition we're set to return to in the final against the dirty pigeons where the vast majority of his game was spent supporting the defence which is one of the reasons I'm convinced he'd make a right back. His spatial awareness is fucking appalling, ether that or he's blind as a fucking bat. People used to rave about Gelson Martins and I'd sit there thinking you're clearly watching the wrong sport. There's a thing called the 100 metres that you're going to fucking love it you enjoying watching people running fast in a straight line. He could not cross a fucking ball to save his life. I had a massive argument with the football writer Andy Brassell over him and Andy - I was fucking proven right. Where is he now and what did he achieve in his career? The one thing he had for him was that when he started his run it was at least generally with an acre of space in front of him which is why I think Quenda would benefit from playing as a right back because there's a lot of point in using his pace if he's got 40 yards plus of space to run into versus fuck all point with five yards of space when he turns on the after burners, beats his marker and runs it out for a goal kick. His other option generally sees him run towards a crowd of defenders like they've whacked a magnet in his boots and he's not noticed. What about the goal he scored against Kairat Almaty you ask? Well see my point about playing kids from Poland from sides you've never heard of even if you're Polish. Don't get me wrong I'd love for him to prove me wrong between now and the end of May but I'd not hold my breath and thankfully we've gotten way above his market value for his services from Chelsea and let's be Lampard Junior about it, I couldn't give a toss about him after he's gone next summer. However should Fresneda and Vagiannidis suffer injuries at the same time I'd fully support him dropping back as a solution. You might think I'm daft but go back to last season and I called Debast in midfield weeks before it happened. I called Trincão playing in a deeper role enabling him to have a greater impact. I might talk a lot of waffle but occasionally it makes more than a degree of sense. This is however a democracy and if you think I'm wrong please feel to comment as to what I'm missing below. 

Comparison Corner 

Given we went through three coaches last season and we had a certain man whose name I try not to mention anymore in these posts banging in goals for us, it seems unfair to do a like for like comparison at this stage in the season. Instead I thought it fairer to do a comparative of results season upon season of the same teams played simply on the basis that a draw is worth one point whether it's 0-0 or 4-4, a win three points whether it's 1-0 or 6-0 and a defeat is no fucking use to us whatever the scoreline. Goals only really matter in the context of head to head records in Portugal if two teams finish level on points and I'm not sure if that's ever happened. It certainly has never happened in recent memory. Clearly we've been good enough to win the title for the past two seasons. I'm not convinced we win a third as of yet but I'd rather be pessimistic about our chances than overly optimistic and end up disappointed. Regular readers will know that I love to Wang on about expectations management so that will be nothing new to them. Rui Borges will have the benefit at one stage on this set of metrics of the João Pereira period. Even if he was in theory to try to compete with 13 straight wins at the start of last season which you should rightly I'd suggest mark down as an anomaly and shouldn't have had any expectations of him having to match this campaign. 

To date eight games played, won 6 drawn 1 and lost won, 19 points in the bag. Handily we've not yet played any of the promoted teams so these will all be like for like results when I overlap them. 

2025/26

Casa Pia A 2-0 W 

Arouca H 6-0 W

Nacional A 4-1W

Porto H 1-2 L

Famalicão A 2-1 W

Moreirense H 3-0 W

Estoril A 1-0 W

Braga H 1-1 D

2024/25

Casa Pia A 1-3 W 

Arouca H 2-2 D

Nacional A 6-1W

Porto H 2-0 W

Famalicão A 3-0 W

Moreirense H 3-1 W

Estoril A 3-0 W

Braga H 1-1 D

This isn't highly scientific and doesn't need a degree to follow but there's 6 wins, 2 draws and 0 defeats. Clearly losing O Clássico this time around could prove detrimental come the end of the season to Sporting's title chances but to borrow a modern phrase, it is what it is. The other obvious stand out between the two sets of results is the game against Arouca at home where 1 point was not only turned into 3, but done in style bettering any result from last season given Nacional at least scored when they conceded 6 times. From memory that would have been Kovačević watching the ball go past forgetting he was the man charged with keeping it out of the net. Net loss of 1 point over the same set of fixtures. Overall last season we drew 7 times and lost 2 so there's plenty of scope for improvement over the course of 34 games. 

Much has apparently been made in some quarters of Sporting's failure to win any of the last five fixtures against the top four sides. As I rightly pointed to someone making that point we've only lost 1 of those last five and we all know in Portugal the chances of anyone outside of Os Três Grandes winning the title is as rare as rocking horse shit. Had we lost all five you've permission to shit a brick. The grape crushers and the dirty pigeons couldn't take more than a point a piece last Sunday night and in fairness to us we shot ourselves in the foot in injury time against Braga and had Hjulmand not given away the penalty we'd have actually been a point better off comparatively on the above metrics and only a point behind Porto in the table. Ask the new Porto mister Francisco Farioli how comfortable he feels with a three point gap over the lions and then when you're done asking him that ask him how he felt with a nine point gap at the top of the Eridivisie with Ajax going into the final month of the season last campaign? Last Sunday was the first time I've criticised Rui Borges from memory but I remain very happy with him in charge. No talk of suffering as we heard so often under Ruben Amorim, instead we're treated to the misters smile most weeks instead which is much nicer I must say of the two. The man's lost one league game since he took charge last December and never once had a full squad to select from. As I said at the start of the campaign if you're really intent on having a moan about anything football related then remind yourself each time that it could be worse, we could be Boavista.

Saturday update - There was a closed doors game against Clube Oriental de Lisboa who play in the Campeonato de Portugal. The lions ran out 5-1 winners. Goalscorers - Morita scored a brace, Alisson, Justo and an own goal.

Starting XI - Virgínia, Reis, Morita, Araújo, Diomande, Alisson, Lucas, Quaresma, Nel, Mangas and Justo. 

International roundup 

Thursday 

Geny Catamo claimed an assist for the Reinildo equaliser for Mozambique against Guinea. The home side got off to a terrible start going a goal down within the opening two minutes. They equalised on 18 minutes but eventually lost 2-1. The result leaves them 3 points behind Uganda with 2 World Cup qualifiers to play. 

More misery for the lions on international duty, this time for Greece where they capitulated in Scotland to lose 3-1. Vagiannidis started and played the full 90 and at one stage was the only Greek player with a rating above 7. They took the lead on the hour mark but things turned rather sour from that point onwards leaving their World Cup hopes in tatters. Ioannidis came on as substitute to play out the last 18 minutes and Doris' contribution was 5 accurate passes out of 5 and a yellow card for his troubles. 

In the same group Denmark spanked Belarus 6-0 away. Hjulmand started but was only needed for 64 minutes. His passing accuracy much better than Sunday night as he completed 55 of 57 passes. The Dane's top the group from the Scots by virtue of goal difference, theirs currently being 9-0.

Friday 

Zeno Debast completed the most passes of any player as Belgium drew 0-0 with top of the table North Macedonia. The result leaves them 1 point behind with a game in hand on a night where they threw everything but the kitchen sink at the opposition. 25 shots to 3, an XG of 2.85 to 0.06. Wales up next on Monday. 

The Portuguese U21 faired better with a 3-0 home win against Bulgaria U21 who finishes the game with ten men. Geovany Quenda played the full 90 but no goals or assists for his Stans to wank themselves silly over at full time. They sit level on points with the Czech Republic who I was about to call Czechoslovakia because I'm now an old man. Mind you it was only a couple of years ago upon hearing the old country name that it dawned on me where you then got the Czech Republic and Slovakia from. Slow on the uptake there obviously. João Simões made his U21 debut coming on as second half substitute. João Muniz who is normally the darling of the U21s and unused substitute. Travassos on loan to Moreirense also featured as a substitute and another familiar face to Sportinguista's in the form of Youssef Chermiti who started and is now apparently at Glasgow Rangers. Well fuck a doodle doo.

Saturday 

Portugal faced off against the Republic of Ireland at the José Alvalade with Inácio in the starting XI. His night finished at half time when replaced with academy graduate Renato Veiga. Trincão did me dirty in the 90th minute providing the assist for the games solitary goal. Gonçalves and Silva unused substitutes.

If Trincão gave my heart a kicking, the Spanish gave Kochorashvili a kicking of a different kind as he ended up the games most fouled player as Spain beat Georgia 2-0. 

Sunday 

It's a case of ay caramba for Luis Suárez who flew just shy of 8,000 kilometres to start for Colombia against Mexico in a friendly played in Texas, USA. The Colombians 4-0 winners, the lions contribution totalling 0 shots, 0 chances created and completing 5 of 7 passes. That was well worth it then. 

Denmark secured a 3-1 home victory against Greece with two lions facing off against each other at kick off, Hjulmand for the Dane's and a rare start for Ioannidis. Hjulmand played the full 90, Doris claimed the assist for Christos Tzolis' goal, was booked and substituted off between minutes 63 and 64. Vagiannidis remaining as an unused substitute. 

Monday 

Congratulations to Cape Verde on becoming the second smallest ever nation to qualify for a World Cup final. Whilst David Moreira wasn't part of this international squad there will be hope of his inclusion come next summer. Regular readers will know I'm a Jovane Cabral apologist so I'm thrilled for him.

Zeno Debast and Belgium have one foot through the door of automatic qualification after a 4-2 away win against Wales in Cardiff. The youngster with significantly less impact than in their last game where he'd completed the most passes of any player with 89 which represented 14.64% of their 608 completed. For those who argue possession is critical in football a timely reminder it's what you do with it that counts. Remember possession is just the percentage of total passes made in the course of a game, a fact that seems to bypass many people. Belgium totalled just over a third of what they did against North Macedonia when they drew 0-0 and yet tonight scored four times. Debast completing 24 of his 27 passes in case you wondered. I wonder if we'll see him given the night off on Saturday with Quaresma paired with Diomande. 

Tuesday 

Busy night of internationals so let's start with Gibraltar U21s 0 Portugal U21s 11. No that's not a typo. Travassos started and opened the scoring and claimed two on the night and an assist. João Muniz back in the starting XI in addition. Quenda came on in the 63rd minute and scored the games 11th. Simões an unused substitute.  

A goal for Kochorashvili as Georgia took on Turkiye away. Sadly they were 4-0 down at that point and the goal merely the consolation in a 4-1 loss. 

Geny Catamo also on the score sheet after 5 minutes as Mozambique beat Somalia 1-0 away, a win that took them level on points with Uganda but not enough to leapfrog them into the final play off spot for next summers World Cup. Still could be worse, you could have been Sweden. 

A Morita less Japan beat Brazil 3-2 in a friendly. A Diomande less Côte d’Ivorie secured their qualification with a 3-0 win at home to Kenya as they finished top of their group. 

Fresneda an unused substitute as Spain U21s beat Finland U21s 2-1.

Another poor night for the Seleção in Lisboa as Portugal fail to hang onto a 2-1 lead against Hungary as the game finished 2-2. No Inácio who came off injured at half time against the Republic on Saturday night. That left Silva, Trincão and Gonçalves in the matchday squad who managed a grand total of 0 minutes on the pitch. Despite Ronaldo this time working out where the ball should go, twice, you have to wonder at which point someone says to the 40 year old I'm not picking you to start and we'll see what the pace and trickery of this side is really capable of. Maybe nothing. Every single one of the substitutes would walk into the Irish starting XI albeit we at least beat Armenia 1-0 to make the group a little more interesting than it was going into tonight's games. Part of me wants to go what would have happened if we'd have attacked Portugal like Hungary did and another part of me is going - you'd have seen the 5-0 you predicted. Oh yeah fair point. 

It could be famous last words as I lost a day somewhere during the last international break, but I think Canada v Colombia is the last game to be played featuring a lion which kicks of at 0100 hours GMT on Wednesday morning. 

Wednesday 

I hope no one was holding their breath with anticipation on the last international game involving a lion. Canada 0 Columbia 0 and Suárez an unused substitute. 

Typically I still managed to miss one game. You can all have a refund on the monies paid to read this post. Fresneda made his Spanish under 21 debut coming on as a substitute in a 4-1 win at home to Norway. 

In the markets 

Paços de Ferreira 10/1

Draw 8/1

Sporting CP 1/8

Team News 

Starting XI 

Virgínia, Vagiannidis, Diomande, Quaresma, Mangas, Hjulmand, Morita, Gonçalves, Alisson, Quenda and Ioannidis 

Substitutes 

Silva, Reis, Debast, Geny, Kochorashvili, Trincão, Fresneda, Simões and Suárez.

Several changes afoot as you'd expect for the Taça, in goal Virginia replaces Rui Silva. Three in the back line as out go Debast, Inácio and Araújo to be replaced by fit again Diomande, Quaresma and Mangas. Maybe a surprise as no Simões in the centre but maybe he's being held for Marseille on Wednesday night, we shall see. Alisson rewarded with his full debut in for Trincão and Ioannidis leads the line in place of Suárez. Reis comes into the squad and Araújo given the night off again surely with Marseille in mind. Inácio was injured on international duty so he misses out as well. Simões I should mention as a substitute.

Paços de Ferreira Starting XI

12 Jeimes, 21 Anilson, 77 Vieira, 23 Ferreira, 2 Cardoso, 15 Leandro, 88 Francisco, 6 Caiado, 90 Lamungo, 30 Costinha and 9 João Victor 

First Half

The draw at home to Braga feels an awfully long time ago now. Paços 16th in Liga 2 with a big task on their hands tonight against the current Taça de Portugal holders. No room in goal for the poor man's Diego as Marafona is replaced by Jeimes in goal for the visitors. Maybe he's more of an Acrobat for PDF? I'll try keep the document jokes to a minimum. No pink to make the boys wink tonight, the lions in green and white halves. 

Bonus points if you can tell me what the Paços mascot is? Possibly an 8 foot red beaver. Lions attack left to right as the home side get us underway.

1 First attack for the lions ends in a goal kick as Doris' attempted cross from the right lands on the roof of the net 

2 Poor from Hjulmand dispossessed easily inside the lions half by Caiado who drives forward and thankfully sees his shot fly over from the edge of the box 

3 Virgínia called into action as a cross from the right takes a deflection and collected by the keeper. Home side not here to make up the numbers 

4 Diomande fouls João Victor and free kick awarded inside the lions half 

5 Free kick 30 yards out straight into the arms of Virgínia 

6 Quenda tries to take on two defenders and runs the ball out for a goal kick. If you read my piece on him above you'll know that comes as no surprise to me 

7 Free kick on the edge of the box right side as Vagiannidis cleaned out by Leonardo

8 Quenda stood over the ball whips it to the far post trying to find Doris who extends a leg but it goes out for another goal kick 

8 Shot of the Sportinguista's behind the goal. They've come in large numbers. Bean counters will be rubbing their hands 

9 Quenda with four men in front of him cuts back to the left and fires over from 14 yards but it at least took a deflection. Corner ball

10 Quenda finds Alisson unmarked in the D who gets his feet all wrong and blasts over 

10 It could be my eyes but I wonder if they've not cut the grass to try curb Sporting's passing game  

10 Mangas shot from 10 yards deflects for another corner far side. Suspicion he was offside. Corner cleared 

12 Quenda cross straight into a defender but deflects to a Sporting player 

13 Alisson shot from the penalty spot blocked 

13 Vagiannidis loses the ball, gets it back only to lose it again 

14 Alisson find Gonçalves open and his shot from 20 yards deflected for another corner 

14 Cardoso goes down in the centre claiming a foul by Diomande which is given by the referee 

16 Alisson tries to pick out a body in the centre but finds a sea of yellow shirts 

16 Yellow to Vagiannidis for simulation inside the area. I've seen worse dives 

17 GOAL João Victor Ronaldo gives the home side the lead. Paços de Ferreira 1 Sporting CP 0. He fires home from inside the D into the bottom left hand corner past the outstretched hand of  Virgínia. Vagiannidis lost the ball in the buildup and Diomande looked like prime Coates as he tries to close him down. The Greek reminds me of Fresneda on his Atalanta debut, it's painful to watch. 

20 Great work by Doris wins the ball inside the area but Gonçalves fires wide from 12 yards 

21 GOLAZZO Gonçalves makes it Paços de Ferreira I Sporting CP 1 as he fires into the top right hand corner a couple of inches outside the 18 yard box. Ioannidis had been wiped out inside the box in the buildup and that would have been a clear penalty had Pote not scored  

23 Well the lions weren't behind for long. They still need to switch on more defensively and offensively 

25 Yellow shown to Anilson for a foul on Mangas. Hjulmand with a hospital ball out to the left sold him short and Anilson was first on the scene but took Mangas out in the follow through 

26 Doris turns and shoots inside the area from 12 yards. Yellow body in his way again blocks the shot which comes off the Greek and out for a goal kick 

28 Sportinguista's amusing themselves as they sing Sporting Allez over and over to the tune of Sway by Dean Martin

30 Gonçalves fires wide from 17 yards. Good work from Alisson to find Pote in space as he drove in from the left. Again he does the simple things so we'll and seems to slow time down and allow space to create 

31 Alisson shot deflects for a corner near side from 19 yards. Quenda picked him out in the interest of fairness but it's taken him 31 minutes. Keeper drops the ball but pounces on it and spares his blushes 

32 Diomande blocks a shot from 10 yards. He looks like he's playing in concrete boots and pulling a caravan as he struggles to get back. He's not going to last the night 

33 Quenda dispossessed and they cut to a shot of a Sporting fan in the crowd who puts his hand to his head in dismay 

34 Doris shot on the edge of the 6 yard box near side blocked by Jeimes to keep the score 1-1. Good work from Gonçalves to find the Greek striker 

36 Offside flag saves Diomande who was losing a foot race with a ball over the top 

37 Mangas wipes out by Anilson far side. He's got to be careful on a yellow. 

37 Quenda finds the first line of yellow shirts and PDF clear easily 

39 Jeimes comes to catch a cross from the left and crashes into Doris and wins a free kick. Not sure what the referee expects the Greek to do there just get out the way 

40 Quenda with a poor effort shanks it wide from 20 yards and out for a goal kick. They zoom into the youngster shaking his head. That's exactly what I was doing at you for the twentieth time this half 

43 Hjulmand with a long ball tries to pick out Doris but PDF clear their lines for a corner far side 

44 Keeper fumbles again but once more no lion alert enough to take advantage of the mistake 

44 Calm from Alisson as he carries the ball out of danger and finds Morita who draws a foul 

Plus one indicated

45 Morita penalised for a foul on Caiado and shown a yellow card much to his disbelief. 

+2 Mangas with good work on the edge of the area to dispossess a PDF player and the referee has seen enough and blows for HT

Half time 

Paços de Ferreira 1 Sporting CP 1 

Well they say you can't polish a turd but Gonçalves goal at least allows you to give it a try. Changes need to be coming in the second half and in a lot of areas. They're replaying the opening goal and as a whole it's impossible where to point the finger of blame. You could aim it at one of 5 or 6 lions. Let's call it collective blame. Should Virgínia have gotten a hand to it? Possibly but he's the least culpable of all involved.

Mangas and Quaresma are the Ying to Diomande and Vagiannidis’ Yang and I'd pull both the latter off at half time. One of either Hjulmand or Morita to swap out with Simões although with the Japanese international booked it's now more likely to be him but I'd have probably taken the Dane off personally. You could replace Quenda with a lamp post and try bounce balls off that and it would probably be more effective on the right wing. Gonçalves has linked up well with Ioannidis who reminds me in part of Kanu in that the ball seems to stick to his boots at points and I'm not entirely sure how. Had the former not scored as mentioned above he would have had a penalty awarded and I can't have any complaints about either performance and whilst Alison's shooting may lack the desired results he at least has looked far more effective down the left hand side. Paços to their credit have quite literally thrown their bodies at the ball inside the box which has resulted in the large numbers of corners won by the lions. Jeime has spilled the ball on at least four occasions and you can only get away with it for so long. With changes we should be fine but it's a question of if those are made sooner rather than later because the lions are making mistakes in all areas so far. 

Second half 

Lions get us back underway. ➡️⬅️ Anilson off, Mora on. No changes for the lions   

45 Bright start for the lions as Alisson runs from the left into the area and fires through a crowd of yellow shirts wide of the far post from 12 yards 

48 GOAL João Victor makes it Paços de Ferreira 2 Sporting CP 1 getting ahead of Hjulmand to sweep home from 8 yards. Piss poor defending again 

50 Gonçalves fires high over the bar from inside the D

51 Doris wins a corner near side. PDF clear again 

51 Morita shot from 8 yards blocked 

52 Alisson playing his part second half. Lions win another corner near side 

52 Quaresma shot from 30 yards blocked 

53 Both Quenda and Alisson operating wide left this half 

54 Vagiannidis loses the ball again under no pressure 

54 Alisson drags a shot into the side netting from 19 yards. Everything good is coming through him this half 

55 Fresneda set to come on.

56 Lions so close to an equaliser as Pote comes close to picking out Doris inside the six yard box. Looks like we're set for a double substitution at least 

57 ➡️⬅️ Morita's night ends as he's replaced by Trincão, Fresneda for Vagiannidis. 

58 Alisson fires over from 17 yards but was falling as he took the shot 

59 Alisson wins another corner 

59 Mota takes no chances and plays the ball out for a corner far side

60 GOAL Sporting have scored from a corner!!! Quenda with the assist as Ioannidis scores his second of the season heading in from six yards. Paços de Ferreira 2 Sporting CP 2 

61 ➡️⬅️ Caiado for Gomes, Mito for João Victor 

62 Can the lions take the lead for the first time tonight? This is a side Sporting B beat 3-0 for context. I don't need additional time 

63 Good play from Hjulmand as he dances into the box but no surprise to see another yellow shirt blocking his progress

65 Heart in mouth as Fresneda sells Diomande short inside the box but the Ivorian spares his blushes 

66 Alisson shot deflects from 20 yards and up into the arms of Jeime

66 Jeime saves from a Trincão effort from 20 yards 

67 Corner far side. Quenda can't repeat his trick this time and PDF clear easily 

68 Every player bar Virgínia in the Paços half now 

69 Gonçalves clears for a throw in to break down a Paços attack 

70 Debast stripping off on the edge of the bench 

70 Alisson wins another corner nearside . This time Jeime holds onto a cross

71 Paços barely made it across the half way line this half but this doesn't mean they're out of this game by any means 

72 Mangas concedes a foul just inside the lions half. Doris on defensive duties this time 

72 ➡️ ⬅️ Mangas off for Geny and Debast for Quaresma 

73 Poor from Trincão whose lobbed pass goes straight out of play for a goal kick 

74 Geny straight into the action wins a corner far side 

75 PDF head clear and are set to bring Vlad on. Wonder if they call him the impaler?

75 Trincão runs quite literally into four yellow shirts

76 Geny shot blocked from 20 yards

76 Diomande shown the yellow as he goes through the back of a Paços player 

79 ➡️ ⬅️ Vlad on for Costinha 

79 ➡️ ⬅️ Alisson for Suárez 

79 Geny brings a save from Jeime

80 Suárez draws a foul and the free kick is cleared for a corner far side 

81 Quenda with possibly the worst shot of the season from 18 yards spins off his boot and harmlessly out for a goal kick. That really was dog shit 

82 Diomande down with cramp. Trincão tries to stretch it out. Sporting have made all their substitutes. It's going to be a long night if this goes into additional time. Or do you get one more change in additional time? Hope so. Think so

83 It's been a one way path into the Paços box but again they're happy to clear the ball for a corner near side 

84 Quenda finds Diomande whose header goes wide from 8 yards and he gingerly runs back 

86 The lions needed a winner in additional time this time last year on the exact day against Portimonense to progress. Will lightning strike twice? Not with balls like that as Jeime claims 

86 Geny blocks. Trincão fouled by Nito who is shown the yellow 

87 Trincão fires high and wide from 20 yards. That wouldn't have even been a conversion in rugby or the NFL

88 Lions with 71% of possession and as I say counts for nothing it's what you do with it 

88 Debast with a run into the box cleared for a corner. Suárez header down onto a defender from six yards. Corner far side. 

89 Diomande heads over and out for a goal kick from 6 yards 

Plus five shown 

90 Corner far side. Jeime collects again finally having worked out how to catch a ball

+2 Suárez can only turn his header wide from 8 yards not helped by Trincão's pass 

+2 Paços claims for a free kick two yards outside the area under pressure from Diomande. Referee unmoved 

+3 Paços fans make some noise for the third time tonight

+4 One minute for someone to be a hero. Fresneda pulls the ball across the area to find Suárez who puts it behind from four yards 

+5 Poor from Hjulmand and Paços clear 

+5 Trincão cross put out for a corner far side. Now or never 

+6 Paços head clear 

Full time 

Paços de Ferreira 2 Sporting CP 2 

Well I'm going to win state the obvious award when I write this isn't what we need before a Champions league tie on Wednesday night to Marseille. 

Extra time first half 

92 Double corner far side for the lions. RTP Pulling their coverage online. Helpful as a chocolate teapot

93 Quenda wins another corner easily cleared 

96 Debast shot from 25 yards deflects for a corner 

97 ➡️⬅️Substitution for Paços. 10 Martins on, Ronaldo off

98 Loud shouts for handball. Jeime saves a follow up effort from close range. Lions behind the goal make their displeasure known. Gonçalves first strike hits the outstretched arm and it's his shot low from 8 yards saved 

99 Virgínia quickly out to punch clear on the edge of his area 

101 Yellow to Gonçalves for a foul on 19. That came from his displeasure at the non penalty award. You can read him like an open book 

103 GOAL Paços de Ferreira 2 Sporting CP 3. Fresneda cross fired towards the near post turned in for an own goal and the Spaniard celebrates as if he'd scored himself. Ferreira the goalscorer. I'd been waiting for a Jeime clanger but that'll do

Plus one indicated 

105 Shot from 17 yards deflected From Hjulmand I think and keeper collects

Half time 

Paços de Ferreira 2 Sporting CP 3

Second half 

Lions get us underway 

107 Shot from just outside the right of the six yard box straight at Virgínia

108 Trying to report on a game on a screen 7” by about 2” is tough enough, try doing it on 2.5” by 1.5” which is what I've been reduced to

108 Geny shot blocked from edge of area. 

110 Mota fires into the Sportinguista's from 22 yards 

111 ➡️⬅️ I saw Reis had fouled someone a minute ago so will assume he came on for Diomande when I had no coverage of the game. Yes he did. Add that one for above on 90 minutes folks. Apologies as I say RTP pulled their online coverage and I only rejoined a minute into extra time 

112 Paços look out on their feet now

112 Second ball straight out of play from the home side for a lions throw

113 Geny rifles a shot from a tight angle which Jeime puts out for a corner. Not sure he knew much about that

114 Another corner which Jeime spills. Should have had Marafona in

114 Yellow shown. Vieira booked possibly for a push on Fresneda or an earlier foul

117 Fresneda running the defence ragged down the right now. Can the lions put this game to bed with a 4th?

118 Mito urged to shoot and he obliged and fires high and wide from 25 yards 

118 Suárez concedes a free kick and laughs at the referee 

119 Martins shot from 19 yards as shit as his haircut and out for a goal kick 

119 Suárez wins a free kick from Ferreira played short though, lions running down the clock 

120 minutes and 14 seconds gone and the referee blows his whistle to signal the end of the match 

Full time extra time

Paços de Ferreira 2 Sporting CP 3

The final word 

I'll begin with a correction, Ronaldo Lumungo it was with the opener for Paços and not João Victor. Someone buy me a 55” TV and teach me some Portuguese please. Long night for the lions at the Estádio da Capital do Móvel. I joked prior to kick off that in the capital of furniture they'd park a wardrobe to stop the lions and to be fair to their players they used their bodies equally as effectively time and time again across the course of 120 minutes. I get that defeats in that manner can be heartbreaking and praise can mean nothing when you've lost but they played their part and gave the lions all sorts of headaches for the entire game and credit to them. Their players wanted it more than ours but the gap in quality was enough in the end. 

I'm not sure they ever give out the full statistics from these Taça de Portugal early rounds so we'll never know for certain just how many shots the lions had blocked but it has to be a minimum of a dozen. There's not much you can do when your opponents are quite literally willing to put their bodies on the line for 120 minutes and their masseur is going to be working overtime on some very sore bodies.

Not the finest night from the lions let's be honest but I've also seen worst performances and us come away not winning against smaller teams over the years. Alverca who we play twice in the coming weeks enjoyed a 2-0 win off the top of my head. 

After 120 minutes I'm not sure where to begin to dissect that game. Sporting were incredibly poor down the right hand side in the opening 45. Vagiannidis and Quenda between them equally as guilty of losing possession as if their minds were already focused on Marseille and if that's true then they needn't have bothered because you'd put both Geny and Fresneda in over them on those performances. Diomande played with concrete in his boots and at most should have played an hour. Borges equally as guilty at times of thinking about Wednesday night I feel. You can point the finger at fatigues from the international break. You can say it was a hangover from the Braga game, you can point to individual errors. They'd all matter more however if Sporting hadn't won the game. 

Virgínia's performance wasn't great and he had very little to do other than pick the ball out the back of the net. Vagiannidis played like Fresneda against Atalanta but in fairness to the Spaniard he was playing against the future Europa League champions not a side that Sporting B played off the park. Quenda played to type with all the failings I'd written about in the build-up to this post but at least did contribute the assist for Ioannidis to equalise from. Quaresma didn't have a lot to do in fairness and as mentioned already it was Diomande who was the issue but he probably shouldn't have been playing if not yet fully fit so hang that one on Borges if you like. Mangas played well and in the second half was able to at least play a bigger part with the space he was allowed and linked up well with Alisson. Einstein's definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect different results which is pretty much what happened trying to attack through Quenda down the right in the opening 45. 

Hjulmand was sloppy with his passing and at fault for the second goal failing to pick up his man and João Victor won't score many easier goals in his career. Morita wasn't much better. You've got to hope Simões is being saved for Wednesday night as he sat watching on from the bench for the entirety of the game. 

Suárez came on for little effect. Geny and Fresneda certainly looked bright when they came on down the right and both stretched the game as Paços legs began to tire. I'm not sure where Trincão's head is at the moment but he's clearly not at the races for whatever reason. Reis has little to do in the half hour he played to be fair to him as Paços rarely ventured across the half way line. 

Which leaves the four for my man of the match. Alisson gets the first vote. Didn't really see much of the ball in the opening 20 minutes but he did much better with his link up play than Quenda on the other flank when they eventually started to play the ball out to his wing. Second half he really came into his own and everything good was coming through him in the end. Can't fault Mangas especially in comparison to some of his teammates over the course of the entire game, solid throughout. Ioannidis drifted out of the game towards the end but his performance deserved a goal and he looked dangerous when in possession of the ball and caused their defenders plenty of headaches. Final vote and my man of the match goes to Pedro Gonçalves. Again he may have gone missing during parts of the game but his goal was of real quality, his link up play with both Ioannidis and Alisson was a positive and overall he did enough to just edge ahead of Alisson and Ioannidis. 

So Marseille awaits and the lions will need to regroup, have a long hard look in the mirror at themselves and try work out whatever it is that is missing right now. Suárez will be fired up no doubt and his quality should help but we cannot play how we have the last two games and expect a positive result against a side like Marseille who have the capabilities of tearing a side apart if they're not at the races as we've found out twice to our detriment already in seasons past and that was pre De Zerbi. 

Fuck me - forgot all about Zeno Debast. Sorry my man. He did something, I need my bed ...