Sporting CP 3 Atlético Clube Marinhense 0
Saturday November 22nd, 2025
Estádio José Alvalade
Taça de Portugal 4th Round
The warm up
The internet is one of the greatest inventions known to mankind but with every great invention there are always some downsides. For example for every medical advancement made there are side effects which we have to suffer and comparatively the internet in 2025 has launched us into a world of conspiracy theories exasperated by people in their bedrooms with clearly nothing better to do in their lives and their identities too tied into their football club. Every decision feels personal to them, injustices are found at every turn. It's now becoming too easy to ignore the most basic of facts, such as that humans make mistakes, that's why they put rubbers on the end of pencils. For those not getting that cryptic clue I'm referencing, of course, the corner that led to Sporting's winner against Santa Clara on Saturday night that has sent parts of Northern Portugal into a compete meltdown.
Now full admission, when I watch Portuguese league football I'm doing so without commentary in the main and even when I have commentary, I don't understand Portuguese so it wouldn't change anything for me even if I did have it. My friend's border collie knows more Portuguese than me which isn't something I'm particularly proud of but it is a fact nonetheless. Side note - She's now in the process of teaching it to understand Hindu just to add salt into my wounds but that's nothing to do with corners that should or shouldn't have been. I won't lie, when I saw the replay of the incident in real time my reaction was that it was a poor challenge being highlighted because a booking hadn't been given or a free kick awarded, it had escaped me totally what had really happened. So there's my plate on the table as to why I didn't mention it in my minute by minute. Saw it, misinterpreted it, we move on.
I thought the referee was appalling from start to finish in that game and I'm always really careful to limit my criticism of referees because it's not a job I could do and I'll always make a point of highlighting good performances when I see them. However at the age of 47 with a beard of grey upon my ugly face, I am old enough and wise enough to know that mistakes do happen. There's no conspiracy there despite what the social media team and other club officials at FC Porto might have you think. The irony there is of course is that for several seasons under Sergio Conçeicão they had a team which would spend 90 minutes trying to cheat and con the match officials and that was all above board in their eyes, but woe betide anyone making a genuine mistake on the pitch who happens to be a match official. I'm still aggrieved at Galeno getting Marcus Edwards sent off in the Clássico. I think I'll still be writing it in ten years time from now that I'm still pissed off. That's fucking cheating and feigning an injury to deliberately get an opponent sent off. An assist referee not having X Ray eyes to see through two players is forgiveable. It should also be noted that in the same game Batista saved a Suárez shot tipping it round the post which wasn't awarded as a corner so it's not like it was an isolated incident in that game and that Santa Clara didn't have an advantage previous to that. If Hjulmand didn't score, no one would be making a fuss and throwing their toys out of the pram, let's be fair.
Had Porto won against Famalicão with a goal awarded from an incorrectly awarded corner I'd have forgotten it by Tuesday. Shit happens. There's real problems in the world that need addressing and fixing and there must be a thousand wives in Portugal rolling their eyes at husbands spending hours pouring over a corner online as a litany of jobs they've promised to do around the house go undone. If everyone put the same effort into making the world a better place as they've done over a poxy corner imagine the world we could all live in. What it does suggest to me however is that FC Porto as a club are starting to really feel the pressure at the top and we're only in November. They enjoyed a great start to last season which everyone seems to overlook under Vítor Bruno only to fall off the edge of a cliff. Something their new mister Francesco Farioli knows all about having thrown away the Eredivisie title with Ajax last season having led in the final rounds of the season by ten points. They're stuttering and all this posturing is as old as time itself. It's misdirection, everyone looks at what the left hand is doing whilst what you should be paying attention to is the right hand. A 2-0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest who were on their third coach of campaign and languishing in the relegation places of the Premier League. A laboured win away to Moreirense where they fell behind and their winner came 3 minutes from time. A fortunate 2-1 win at home to Sporting Braga who had the better chances in the game and failed to convert. Fans criticise Rui Borges teams for sitting back in the Clássico's and Dérbi's and yet Farioli’s team completed 218 passes to Braga's 597. That was in the Dragão by the way. A 1-1 draw away to FC Utrecht from the Netherlands who sit 5th in the table, 12 points off PSV having lost 5 times this season already and who played out the last 25 minutes with ten men. Then finally a 1-0 away to Famalicão who like Utrecht also sit fifth, 12 points off Porto at the top. I think the reality is that it's not the corner that never was or the goal that shouldn't have been that saw Sporting come away with three points, it's the manner of the win that leaves the lions with their foot firmly up their arses and they're just waiting to implode like they did twelve months ago. The wheels are already coming off the rails. Time will tell.
Unlike FC Porto and Benfica we thankfully avoided the club world cup but that doesn't mean we've been immune to injuries. I'm sure flights to and from Turin and then a flight to the Azores on top won't have helped the players alongside an already busy couple of weeks in terms of games but Saturday saw the lions repeating a very worrying trend from last season. Neither I'm guessing is having to play on what looked like a semi ploughed farmers field in the Azores. Pedro Gonçalves is now possibly out for 4 to 6 weeks. Fotis Ioannidis boarding the return flight on crutches and looking at a layoff of at least a month if reports are to be believed. I joked for week after week last season that the physio room had a one in one out rotation policy as if we were cursed and it's showing no signs of improvement which is ironic given that the club's president is a doctor. They join Debast, Nuno Santos and Bragança on the injured list. Fresneda had just returned from injury. We lost Diomande and Araújo earlier this season from injuries, Morita was missing for reasons given as ill health but as we learned post game Saturday he's struggling mentally. I wrote after the game there's clearly something up with him and suggested it would in part be because of the World Cup coming up in the summer and being out of contract, only he knows the real reason. You never know what's going on with players. Hjulmand clearly had gone off the boil for a period of time and then announced with his wife that she was expecting their first baby and most pregnancies fail in the first 12 weeks. You've got Pedro Gonçalves with young babies he's having to leave behind at an age where as a parent they've just become your entire world which is an incredible wrench. I'll readily admit we got away with one against Santa Clara and the result in Turin was mostly owed to the brilliance of Rui Silva on the night but it's not like that doesn't happen every season and for every team. I wonder what our season would have been like in the 2023/24 campaign had it not been for the winner which came in additional time against Vizela on the opening day? We clearly drew a lot of self belief from that game and we can too in theory from the same thing happening in the Azores. We overcame a raft of injuries last season and kept fighting to the end. We've a raft of talented youngsters knocking at the door eager for the opportunity to shine and you have to imagine many of them will get another opportunity to do that in our next game in the Taça. I'll start to worry when we stop getting away with it or fall back into habits of old where we go a goal behind and watch any belief we had just wash away.
As soon as Pedro Gonçalves was injured fans were jumping on social media saying the club need to go into the market and get a replacement in the winter window. We couldn't do the deals we wanted in the summer so I have no faith they can get it done in the winter window. Having seen Luís Suárez and Kochorashvili fail to adjust from the Spanish Segunda to Portuguese top flight football it clearly shows the gap in quality between the two leagues and I wouldn't be returning for Yeremay any time soon especially having already paid over the odds for Suárez and Ioannidis. Surely at some point Nuno Santos returns to fitness and provides an option from the left. Flávio Gonçalves can certainly cut in from that side onto his right as we've seen time and time again playing for Sporting B and his low centre of gravity would potentially cause a lot of nuisance for defenders but I do appreciate it's a big step up but we've seen it work time and time again from Nuno Mendes through to João Simões at present. All you need is to be presented with a chance.
Speaking of chances …
Once more other than Diomande failing his audition for Dancing on Ice not once but twice on Saturday night in the Azores, the biggest failure came in the final third with the forward line again guilty of spurning chances. It's too easy to say the sale of Gyökeres has affected the attacking output of the lions but when you consider this time last season we'd scored 56 goals in all competitions of which he'd scored 23 it's a given he was going to be missed. His tally alone is just over 50% of the 45 goals scored to date this campaign. That's a figure not to be sneezed at in fairness as they're still averaging 2.5 goals per game across all competitions, however that figure is down from 3.11 at the same stage albeit inflated by a string of large one off results. Importantly you still only get 3 points for a win whether you've won 6-1 or 1-0.
Total attempts for the players where I have the exact data broken down into total attempts, blocked shots and shots on and off target are as follows;
296 attempts
79 shots blocked (27%)
102 off target (34%)
115 on target (39%)
Or to look at it another way 61% of chances are not even on target or roughly 2 of every 3 attempts.
If you throw in the total attempts for the Paços de Ferreira game where the exact breakdown wasn't shown, that's a whopping 335 attempts on goal and 29 of those attempts in that game were either blocked or off target.
As a team, again where the data is complete for games, they've record 55 Opta defined big chances across all competitions and missed 37 of those (67.27% which is 2 of every 3). Luis Suárez presented with 19 big chances missing 13 (68.42%) and Pedro Gonçalves 11 big chances missing 8 (72.73%).
It can't all be pinned onto the failure of two players to take their biggest chances of course but had they done we could have killed games off a lot sooner in many cases. By this point last season we'd had 15 different goalscorers whereas this time it's dropped to 13 (both including an own goal for context). When your forwards aren't finding the net as consistently as the data suggests they should then you need to be helped by goals from players in other areas of the pitch. To be fair to both Suárez and Gonçalves, despite the total of number of big chances missed, they've been converting those chances which weren't defined as being big, so define irony. At the time of writing Gonçalves top scorer in all competitions with 9 goals and Suárez one behind on 8. Trincão has 5, Quenda and Ioannidis on 4 apiece. I'd not object to anyone that says Pote is stepping up this season given he's scored 4 more year on year. Trincão has 2 more. Suárez and Ioannidis have 13 combined compared to Gyökeres and Harder who had more than double on 28 combined. I mean to be fair the Swede on his own is 10 goals ahead of them. Would we be in the same predicament failing to put games to bed early if he was still here? I'm going to say no.
If I was a Santa fan I'd have felt aggrieved at not been awarded a foul against Diomande and him not being shown a yellow especially given how quickly Wendel had been booked in the game. It's the oldest footballing cliché in the book that these things even themselves out and the Ivorian repaid them sixty seconds later. At the Alvalade last season they scored and sat back. Bremner should have scored for them and fired wide and I still argue that Araújo gets the ball in the camera angle from behind the goal but the decision stands and we have to deal with it. Thankfully he just misses the next game which he'd probably have been rested for anyway so no harm done but a nice segue all the same.
Our next opponents after the international break, Atlético Clube Marinhense, were founded in 1923 and ply their trade in the Campeonato de Portugal. Home for them is the 8,378 capacity Estádio Municipal da Marinha Grande which I take to translate as being the Council stadium next to the big marina. I'm willing to admit I could be very wrong on that front and as we've ascertained in this post already I live in a town where a dog understands more Portuguese than I do.
Like a lot of clubs I write about in Portugal it was first and foremost a sporting club like our fine institution. Football being the main sport but it has over the years participated in athletics, basketball, boxing, cycling, volleyball, rugby and some new ones which I've not mentioned ever before in these posts - fishing and pigeon racing. If you thought watching Santa Clara was bad every week imagine watching someone fishing or pigeon racing which I guess is a bit like watching cycling where they whizz past and you go was that it? Having just written that I have a vague memory that I did mention a pigeon called Gyökeres but unlike the Swede he wasn't flying for Sporting.
In May of 1929 it became one of the founding members of the Leiria FA and they would dominate the early years of the Leiria District Championships winning an impressive six of the first nine titles.
In their official history they note a game on December 28th, 1931 in which one of their players was handed a 90 day suspension for saying “I know what the referee needed.” Clearly nothing changes when Conrad Harder can get went off for saying Yeah close on a century later.
May 13th, 1934 sees Atlético travel away to Lisboa for their first ever game against Sporting CP which the lions won 3-1. Four years later the club became a branch of Sporting and their club crest adopted the lion atop a shield. Not all fans were happy with the decision which led to the founding of SL Marinha.
In the 1964/65 season when putting a man on the moon was still a pipe dream, the minnows from Marinha pulled off a wonder of their own when they went to the old Alvalade and beat a Sporting side who'd been crowned European Champions just four months earlier when they lifted the Cup Winners Cup. September 20th, 1964 the date no doubt etched into the clubs folklore as they recorded a 2-1 victory with goals from Marciano and Jorge Neto after Mario Lino had got his marching orders in the 65 minute. Can they pull off another cup shock 61 years on at the new José Alvalade against the reigning back to back league champions? I'll try not to tempt fate but I will say I won't be putting money on it happening. Unfortunately for Marinhense despite their shock victory in the round of 32, ties were 2 legged affairs back then and Sporting progressed 5-2 on aggregate.
Not done with beating the lions in the sixties they did so again in 1993 at the inauguration of their current home when the lions were the guest team. When you're playing one of Os Três Grandes then I'm sure wins in friendly games count just as much.
From the outside looking in it appears to be a football club with the right values looking to play a central role in the heart of the town. It's ethos is to grow the club hand in hand with the community and they want their success to be measured on this metric and not by the results on the pitch. More power to them in this crazy world in which we all find ourselves living in.
They booked their place in the 4th round with a 7-6 win on penalties against Anadia after a goalless draw after extra time. Sounds like an opposition that would solve your headaches not give you them but oh well. It could have been very different had their keeper Franklim not kept out a penalty in additional time. I don't think he'll need to have spent much time watching Hjulmand's penalty technique if he comes up against the Dane from the spot kick in this game. I imagine fortunately for the skipper he'll be afforded rest as most of the first team were in the recent 5-1 win at home to Alverca.
Their campaign got off to a winning start 1-0 away to GD Peniche. António Carlos Vaz Martins with the goal after 63 minutes. Ohoulo Framelin given his marching orders 12 minutes into additional time. The home side then missed a penalty a whopping 16 minutes into additional time. This followed up by 1-1 draws at home to GD Samora Correira and then away to CD Fátima. This reminds me of those cheap cassettes you could buy in petrol stations. Stop me when you recognise a name. Vinícíus Santos with the opening goal to Samora, Martins going from hero to villain as he was sent off after 21 minutes. They held onto 4 minutes until the end of the 90 before conceding the equaliser. Santos again on the score sheet with the opener against Fátima and they did at least finish with eleven men on the pitch, conceding in the second half.
GD Samora Correira returned a fortnight later in the first round of the Taça de Portugal and after another 1-1 draw the home side progressed 3-1 on penalties. Vinícíus Santos again on the score sheet although this time Marinhense equalised.
Defeat on Matchday 4 as they went down at home 1-0 to Mortágua and I promise I'm not making these team names up. No such issues in the second round of the Taça as they dispatched Mosteirense 6-0 at home. Vinícíus Rayan with a hat-trick, Rui Henriques, Antonio Martina and Arter Undonque with the other goals. Back down to earth with a 3-1 loss away to Naval 1893 with Batalha scoring the consolation goal.
A 1-0 home win against OS Marialvas in the league with a goal from Watche followed by the already mentioned win in the 3rd round of the Taça to set up the tie against the lions. Back down to earth AGAIN though thumped 4-0 away to Vitória de Sernache. A 0-0 at home to Electrico FC which is surely a club name lifted straight out of the pages of a Roy of the Rovers comic from the 1970s. Saturday they lost to a side whose name reads like it was dipped out a bin, 3-0 away to Benfica e Castelo Brandon. The loss leaves them 11th in Serie C on 9 points.
Details on their squad is limited so apologies but I note that midfielder Gonçalo Batalha was part of the Sporting U23 setup until September 2022 when he signed for União de Leiria.
It's probably worth pointing out that at the same stage of last season's competition which the lions went on to win, João Pereira made his debut as the mister beating Amarante 6-0. Marinhense without a goal in their last four games and perhaps more worryingly for them other than the 6-0 win at home to Mosteirense they've not managed to score more than a single goal in any of the fixtures they've scored in.
Tuesday update - Rui Sacramento the coach of AC Marinhense has effectively been put on gardening leave following accusations of improper conduct whilst his employers investigate the matter further.
Friday update - Renato Sousa the youth team coach of AC Marinhense will lead the side out against the lions after the club dismissed Sacramento after complaints from the playing staff about his treatment towards them. What a game to mark your debut as a mister in. Worked for João Pereira this time last year. Not sure it'll work then other way around against the current league champions and Taça de Portugal holders.
Sporting CP Feminino
Sporting Braga v Sporting CP
Saturday November 8th, 2025
Starting XI
Wellmann, Cancelinha, Barron, Cherry, Armengol, Hernandez-Grey, Perez, Arques, Bea, Encarnação and Neto
Substitutes Used
Haugen, Bonseguendo, Santiago and Correia
After her unfortunate clanger in the last game against Torreense which gifted them the winning goal on the stroke of 90 minutes, goalkeeper Catarina Potra was dropped in favour of Wellmann for this fixture.
The lionesses could have taken the lead on 6 minutes as Encarnação saw her shot from inside the D pushed onto the post. A minute later Armengol saw her goal bound shot from 17 yards tipped over the bar. They fell behind on 22 minutes when a Malu Schmidt shot from 10 yards looped up over Wellmann in goal and the balls trajectory carried on goalwards and Schmidt followed to slot home from a yard for the avoidance of doubt. The lionesses were awarded a penalty for handball which Encarnação converted on 43 minutes to draw them level.
Full time
Sporting Braga 1 Sporting CP 1
Interestingly this is the third straight season this fixture has now finished all square at one apiece. Wellmann the Sporting player of the match with six saves in total. We're used to seeing the women having to play on second rate surfaces so ironic that the men should suffer that fate in the evening whilst the women got to play on a decent looking pitch so kudos to Braga even if I suspect it normally functions as one of the men's teams training pitches during the week. In truth Braga will have come away disappointed at the result given their XG of 4.21 to just 1.20. Bear in mind the XG for a penalty is always 0.79 to boot. Sporting stay second behind Benfica in the table but any hopes of a genuine title push are fast slipping away especially given the depth and quality of the neighbours squad. The gap five points between the Lisboa city rivals.
Next up
Glasgow City (A)
Petershill Park, Glasgow
Wednesday November 12th, 2025
UEFA Women's Europa Cup
Founded in 1998 Glasgow City are Scotland's most successful club, a feet made all the more impressive as they stand alone as a club and unlike the majority of professional women's teams worldwide don't have a male counterpart to whom they need to play second fiddle to.
Currently top of the SWPL they've won 9 of their opening 10 games, drawing the other and conceding just 3 times. Like the lionesses they dropped down to this competition after elimination from the Champions League suffering a 2-0 defeat at home to Austria Wien in their qualifier. Their Europa League campaign began with 3-0 wins home and away to Ireland's Athlone Town AFC. In the last round a 2-1 defeat in Denmark to HB Køge was turned around in Glasgow as they won 5-3 and it should be noted that the Danes currently top the Kvindeligaen by 8 points.
After a promising start for the lionesses their form has dropped considerably in recent weeks. They'll certainly need their wits about them when they face off against Leanne Ross’ side. The flying Fin Sofia Määttä looks like she'll cause our defenders plenty of headaches with 4 goals and 4 assists this campaign as well as to pedants like me in turn who desperately try spell players names correctly wherever possible. Took me long enough to get Gyökeres correct.
Starting XI
Wellman, Haugen, Barron, Cherry, Armengol, Fonseca, Bonsegundo, Pérez, Arques, Encarnação and Santiago
Change on the left of the 3 defenders as Haugen returns to the starting XI. Fonseca and Bonseguendo come into the midfield 5 and the return of Santiago on the right side of a front 2.
Glasgow get us underway, the lionesses attack left to right
4 Good work from Ashley Barron as she shepherds the ball out for a goal kick from the diminutive Mothalo
6 Corner to the Scots far side. Lauder to take, decides to go short and the cross headed away
11 After good work down the left Haugen pulls the ball back from the goal line to Encarnação who fires over from 8 yards
13 Fonseca concedes a foul wide left, fired into the lionesses box by Lauder but comfortably dealt with once more
15 The lionesses slowing down play to highlight Harrison being injured but the referee was uninterested. In the end Sporting lost possession and Wróbel fired wide from 20 yards. They'll have made a mental note there I'm sure
19 GOAL Glasgow City 1 Sporting CP 0. Wróbel fires in from 16 yards into the bottom left hand corner with Wellmann flat footed in the centre. Sporting should have done better with three defenders around the player
22 Yellow to Abi Harrison for kicking the ball away
22 Foul throw by Haugen. Referee not standing for any nonsense tonight as Ball turned over the Glasgow City
24 Santiago wins possession back in midfield and played a clever curling ball for Encarnação to run onto but Gibson quickly off her line recognised the danger
26 Glasgow clearly adept at the back as they play a neat series of passes including the keeper Gibson to clear the danger
28 Pérez dispossessed Mothalo inside the final third and the ball fell to Bonseguendo who carried it into the D and fired a shot away that landed a foot or two past Gibson's right hand post
30 Encarnação down after a late challenge from Evans on the right. Poor free kick into the six yard box cleared
33 Santiago and Encarnação both back far too deep inside the Sporting half trying to get involved in the game. All too easy for the Scottish side at present
34 Let off for the lionesses as Wróbel launches the ball from 18 yards high and wide. She knows that was a big chance
35 Santiago forces a corner near side. Ball into the edge of the six yard box easily cleared again
37 Another corner near side for the lionesses. It found Barron at least but her header went back and the move broke down. Frustrating stuff from Sporting
39 Gibson with a mistake on the edge of her six yard box as she mistimed a punch from a good cross in from the left wing but Sporting unable to capitalise
42 Arques smashes a shot from 22 yards which Gibson just gets a hand on to push over for a corner
42 Sporting shout for a penalty but referee uninterested. Bonseguendo looked like she was definitely clipped as she chased down a pass from Santiago. Just the one camera angle from the side on the half way line so hard to tell definitively
Plus one shown
45 Sporting penalised for another foul throw
Half time
Glasgow City 1 Sporting CP 0
Just the one goal in it as the sides make their way off in blustery wind for half time. Glasgow with a deserved lead though the lionesses came close from Arques. They'll be kicking themselves over the opener with three or four chances to have cleared their lines. I'm guessing the hosts played with the winds behind their backs in the opening 45, the lionesses need to try to turn it to their advantage if so in the second half. The number of foul throws and lack of quality from set pieces poor from Sporting it has to be said. Big improvement needed second half.
Second half
If you're in any doubt about the weather in Scotland tonight the half time reporter is shivering on the pitch. The lionesses out first hopefully eager to correct the mistakes from the opening 45. The mister Micael Sequeira puffs out his cheeks not enjoying the weather either.
Sporting get us back underway
45 Free kick inside the Glasgow half sent into the box but again too easy for City
47 The ball has been encamped inside the Glasgow half for the opening 2 minutes but again the lionesses have lacked that decisive final ball
48 Glasgow with their first attack win a corner near side. Five players lined in a row in the centre like a rugby line out. Don't remember seeing that one before. Sporting clear
49 Big let off as Whelan fails to connect properly from six yards and Wellmann collects
50 Wróbel with a weak shot from 19 yards fails to put Wellmann under any pressure as she collects comfortably
53 Confusion at the back from Sporting who somehow managed to get the ball clear as the it ricochets in and around the six yard box
56 Fonseca inches away from a leveller as she swivelled and fired a shot from 18 yards which whistles past the left hand post
58 Santiago with a driving run in between two defenders slams in a shot from 23 yards which narrowly missed with Gibson at full stretch. That would have been an incredible goal.
59 ➡️ ⬅️ Change for the home side
60 Better from the lionesses. Encarnação collected the ball wide left and continued her run towards the box and her curled effort from 19 yards wide of the post
62 Cross from the left header out for a Sporting corner far side. Finally the lionesses have found some belief and for the first time you sense they can get something from this game
62 Cherry header from six yards hits the back of a defender and Gibson collects
64 Santiago and Encarnação combining well down the left but in reality they shouldn't be sharing the same space and the midfield should be pushing up faster to support when breaking
67 Correira set to come on in a double substitution for the lionesses
69 Wellmann comes with a strong claim from the left
70 Cherry taking no chances with a cross from the left heads out for a corner
71 Cultured hoof clear from Encarnação
72 Mothalo fires low from 24 yards straight into the hands of Wellmann. Either corner and she may well have been in trouble
72 ➡️ ⬅️ Armengol for Hernandez-Grey and Bonseguendo for Correira
73 Arm into the back of the defender from Santiago forces a corner to the lions. Defender was definitely looking for a free kick as she was forced into the error
74 GOAL Glasgow City 1 Sporting CP 1. Encarnação with an audacious volleyed effort to fire in from 7 yards
79 Sporting in the ascendency now force a corner far side as a pass into the six yard box cleared
80 Catching practice for Wellmann as Whelan's shot from 16 yards straight at the keeper
81 Correira nicks the ball off a player's toes. She's done well since coming on
82 Blocked shot from 17 yards from Arques
82 Another attempt blocked from Arques from 20 yards
83 Glasgow clinging on as Sporting win a corner near side
83 ➡️ ⬅️ Santiago for Capeta and Fonseca for Cancelinha
84 ➡️ ⬅️ Whelan for Määtä. Thank Christ she's not been playing all game typing her name is hard work
85 Corner City far side Wróbel header wide from six yards
87 ➡️⬅️ Fontemanha for Pérez as they swap the role of captain
88 The home side throwing everything at the lionesses trying to find a second but the defence equal to everything
89 Wróbel with a driving run from midfield to the edge of the area finds herself surrounded with nowhere to go
Plus four indicated
+2 ⬅️➡️ Boyes for goalscorer Wróbel
+3 Glasgow defender leans into Encarnação and the Sporting forward hits the post in frustration. Good strength from Golob
Full time
Glasgow City 1 Sporting CP 1
Far better from the lionesses second half who'll have been left kicking themselves that they didn't leave Glasgow with a lead to take back to Alcochete. A clichéd summary to say it was a game of two halves but it truly was. In the second leg Sporting cannot afford to start as slow again against a side who are clearly well drilled.
Sporting CP v Glasgow City
UEFA Women's Europa Cup
November 19th, 2025
Alcochete
Starting XI
1 Wellmann, 15 Fonseca, 41 Barron, 26 Cherry, 12 Haugen, 11 Pérez, 19 Boseguendo, 14 Argues, 13 Santiago, 42 Correia, 9 Encarnação
Glasgow City get us underway. Sporting attack right to left in the opening 45. 1-1 the aggregate score from the first leg. Sporting in their traditional green and white horizontal stripes and Glasgow all in orange with white trim.
1 Boseguendo fires a shot from 17 yards to the top right hand corner bringing a flying save from Gibson
1 Encarnação low drive from 16 yards straight at Gibson. Electric start from the lionesses
3 Corner far side to the visitors comes to nothing
5 Gibson quickly off her line to snuff out a lionesses attack
9 Santiago fires wide left into the six yard box put out for a corner near side. Glasgow head clear
9 Arques wide left tries to catch Gibson out with a shot from 24 yards but goes wide of the near post
11 In the first leg it was Glasgow that ran the opening 45 but they've struggled to get a foot into this game so far
13 Gibson misplaces a pass but Sporting fail to capitalise on the mistake
18 Wróbel shot blocked from 12 yards and out for a corner near side
19 Wellmann claims unconvincingly but finally gets hold of the ball from the corner
22 So far the commentator has used the L word which is bad enough but the co-commentator just called us Porto.
24 Arques drags her shot low from 21 yards wide of the left hand post
35 Gibson somehow manages to stretch her left arm out having gone to ground early and snatches the ball away from the feet of Correira who'd past her with her first touch inside the area. Great piece of goalkeeping there.
26 Offside flag up against Encarnação who had shot from 6 yards from a cross on the right and Gibson had made another great block to keep the ball out of the net
29 Despite free entry tonight there's only a small pocket of fans to the right of the stand
30 Santiago fouls Whelan on the right. Free kick 30 yards out. Aimed to the far corner of the six yard box and headed clear
31 Dangerous cross into the Sporting area cleared for a corner far side
32 Corner played to the far post where the City player accidentally provides good defensive cover and her attempted header back to try find an orange shirt clears the area
34 Glasgow with their best period of possession over the last couple of minutes have just now started to grow into this game
39 Encarnação shown a yellow for a foul on Wróbel
40 GOAL Sporting CP 0 Glasgow City 1. Free kick to the far post headed back across the six yard box to the near post and Kozlova heads in from 2 yards
Half time
Sporting CP 0 Glasgow City 1
The lionesses will be left scratching their heads at half time as to how they go in 2-1 down on aggregate after an opening 45 minutes that they largely dominated. Lee Gibson, by far the busier keeper, City scored with their only attempt of the half.
Second half
Sporting get us back underway as the lionesses facing elimination from the competition. No changes from either side.
45 Correia dispossessed far too easily down the left. Glasgow force a corner just seconds in
46 Cherry heads a secondary cross out for a corner far side. Lionesses able to bring the ball out from the resulting corner
47 Whelan attempts to hook a cross from the left backwards but gets it wrong to the fortune of Sporting and out for a goal kick
48 Concerted pressure in the opening of this half from the visitors and the lionesses cannot get out their own half
53 Yellow Lauder for a foul inside the Glasgow half. Cross into the box found Barron 8 yards out but her header well wide of the right hand post
54 Encarnação flagged offside as she beat the line. Looked a poor decision from the official nearside
55 Tremendous tackle inside the area from City as Santiago was bearing down on goal
58 Harrison shot from 18 yards low and straight at Wellmann
59 Smit penalised for a foul. Yellow shown to the Sporting mister presumably for something he said
63 ➡️⬅️ Harrison for Määtä
63 City on the charge again and it's Santiago running back who gets it clear for Sporting
65 Mothalo slips as she tries from 23 yards and her shot clears the bar
66 Great skill from Santiago to get clear of two players. That's her last involvement of the night however
67 ➡️⬅️ Pérez, Santiago and Correia off. Capeta, Armengol and Gray on.
69 Mathalo forces a save from Wellmann from a low shot inside the D
72 GOAL Sporting CP 1 Glasgow City 1. Dinked ball into the area found Encarnação who'd beaten last defender and slotted home into the bottom right hand corner from 8 yards. Armengol with a superbly weighted ball through just five minutes after coming on makes an instant impact on the game
74 ⬅️➡️ Neto for Bonseguendo. Neto takes the captains armband from Capeta who took it from Pérez
75 Confusion at the back from City but Sporting can't take advantage
76 Neto drives a shot from 12 yards right of the area straight down the throat of Gibson
77 Thirteen minutes to find a winner and avoid extra time for either team
77 Corner far side Sporting. Free kick conceded by the lionesses and Glasgow catch their breath
78 ➡️⬅️ Lockwood for Wróbel
79 Capeta strike from 24 yards goes wide of the left hand post
80 Sporting in the ascendency look the more likely to find a second as it stands
82 Yellow to Fonseca taking down Määtä in a dangerous position
84 Glasgow went with a cross from the free kick 24 yards out into the box and Sporting clear. Maybe should have taken the option to shoot given where the free kick was
84 Encarnação fouled inside the D. Ball fell to Neto whose shot was blocked. Capeta with another shot blocked. Referee pulled back play for the first infringement
86 Encarnação over the ball. City with 8 players in the wall. The free kick smashed against the left post. Gray misses the follow up from 18 yards
87 Capeta yellow though for what is anyone's guess
88 Encarnação wasteful as her shot from 28 yards rolls to Gibson
89 Overcooked pass to Encarnação as Sporting countered. Chance goes begging.
Five minutes additional time indicated
90 Long ball chased down by Encarnação cleared by Gibson
90 Neto with the conversion fires high over the bar from 25 yards
+2 Whelan fouls Armengol on the far touchline
+3 Neto shot blocked, she gets a second bite of the cherry and out for a corner.
+4 Fonseca cross inside the area drops onto the top of the net.
Full time whistle blows. Extra time awaits both sides
Sporting CP 1 Glasgow City 1
First Half
Glasgow get us underway. Lions attack left to right.
92 Capeta wins a corner near side. Barron's shot deflects from ten yards and ends in the arms of Gibson
93 Whipped shot from Gray from 18 yards, Gibson gets her body behind it and saves
96 Capeta cross put out for another corner near side
97 Barron heads over from 8 yards
98 Gray shot inside the D is blocked
98 Raphino stood on the sidelines ready to come on for the lionesses returning from her spell out with injury.
99 GOAL Sporting CP 2 Glasgow City 1. Wild celebrations as Fonseca finds Encarnação who gets her second of the game heading in from 2 yards. Bodies flood from all angles from the sidelines to join in the celebrations. They were guilty of over celebrations against AS Roma with a late equaliser only to get knocked out. Have they gone too early again? Time will tell
100 ➡️⬅️ Encarnação for Raphino
101 ➡️⬅️ Anderson and Forrest on for Whelan and Mothalo
102 Yellow to Golob for a foul on the far side
104 Armengol Curls an effort over the bar from 18 yards
Plus one shown
+1 Lockwood shot blocked from 14 yards
Half time
Sporting CP 2 Glasgow City 1 (3-2)
The lionesses found the lead for the first time in this tie over the 195 minutes played. Fifteen minutes away from booking a place in the quarter finals.
Second half
➡️⬅️ Haugen for Cancelinha
➡️⬅️ Tanaka for Kozlova and Brownlie for Evans
105 Sporting get us back underway
105 GOAL Sporting CP 3 Glasgow City 1. Capeta cross from the right found Armengol unmarked and she lofts it home over Gibson from 9 yards. Superb finish from the youngster. Surely even with 15 to play that's the tie now over
115 Raphino burst down the left and overcooked her pass to Capeta in the centre and the chance goes begging
117 Golob fires a shot from 28 yards and Wellmann with a great save low to her left to push the ball around the post
119 Gray through on goal, draws to take a shot from 8 yards, sliding tackle from the right wipes her out and Grays boot with her forward momentum kicks Gibson in the face. Physios on for both teams quickly
Plus one shown
+1 Thankfully everyone back on their feet
+3 Goal kick to Sporting. Referee decides she's seen enough and blows for full time before Wellmann can take it
Full time
Sporting CP 3 Glasgow City 1 (4-2)
The final word
Sporting through to the final 8. The game could have been far different had they taken the lead in the first minute. In the end they've had to do it the hard way over both legs coming from behind each time. Encarnação with three goals in the tie clinical in front of goal when it was needed the most. Armengol with the goal of the tie and a wonderful assist for Encarnação’s opener on the night. The lionesses will face Hammarby IF. This competition not back until next February now with the first leg at home to be played on February 11th and the away tie seven days later on the 18th. Some big names in Internazionale and Anderlecht fell by the way side tonight knocked out by BK Häcken and Austria Wien respectively. Sporting's next listed fixture is away to Rio Ave on December 6th.
International roundup
Thursday
Republic of Ireland 2 Portugal 0
Until tonight I've never really wondered how Maradona felt when Argentina drew Italy in the 1990 World Cup to be played in Napoli. Shades of country over club as I write this with a shit eating grin over my face. Gonçalo Inácio started for the Seleção only to be replaced by ex-lion Renato Veiga with Ireland 2-0 up and Portugal looking as sick as a Troy Parrott. Bernardo Silva was replaced by Trincão on the 62nd minute by which time another ex-lion by the name of Ronaldo had been given a straight red and my ribs a pounding laughing at his crying hands gesture before being dismissed. Couldn't happen to a nicer person. Rui Silva an unused substitute. Only slightly less enjoyable the Irish commentator butchering Portuguese names which following on from the opening paragraphs made me feel better. How Nevezz, How Feelix and my personal favourite Gone Carlo Ignarse-e-o 😂. Come on you boys in Green. It's OK though we'll banjax it all on Sunday.
After injuries to Gonçalves and Ioannidis saw them removed from the Portugal and Greece squads, Debast not called up owing to a longer term injury for Belgium and Diomande a late replacement callup for the Cote d'Ivoire, João Simões completes the hokey kokey as he withdraws from the Portugal U21s injured.
Iran v Cape Verde
In front of a crowd of just 634 the two sides drew 0-0 with Iran winning the friendly 5-4 on penalties. David Moreira on the bench didn't feature.
Friday
Saudi Arabia v Côte d'Ivoire
Having initially decided against calling up Diomande to the national squad and then drafting him in as a late replacement following an injury, their mister Emerse Faé started with the Sporting mainstay on the bench. So the lion with Champions League experience, playing for the current two time Champions of Portugal watched on as his side fell behind on 7 minutes with a centre pairing of Jean-Philippe Gbamin of Metz who sit 5th bottom in Ligue 1. Beside him Emmanuel Agbadou-dou-dou push pineapples shake the tree of Wolverhampton Wanderers, currently bottom of the Premier League with 2 points. When a change was made at the back Odilon Kossonou of Atalanta came on. That's Atalanta that have 2 wins in their first eleven games. The final score 1-0, Diomande with no game time, his fractious relationship with the national coach continuing and you can only hope he doesn't get selected for the African Cup of Nations in January.
Morocco v Mozambique
If Portuguese players bemoan having to do the running for the 40 year old Ronaldo, one wonders if Geny feels the same as he lined up alongside Dominguês in the front 3 who turned 42 years young yesterday. Unlike Ronaldo however he left the field at half time of his own accord and not under the power of a red card, having been substituted with his side losing 1-0 against a side who start as favourites for the African Cup of Nations in January on home soil. Final score 1-0, Geny played the full 90, 1 blocked shot to his name as the visitors mustered a total of 3 attempts between them.
Spain U21s v San Marino U21s
Finally some success for a lion on international duty as the Spanish finished 7-0 victors with Fresneda completing the full 90 minutes.
Saturday
Georgia v Spain
Feet up time for Kochorashvili as his Georgian compatriots took on the country he'd called home before his move to Sporting in the summer. Wise move to have picked up a suspension for that game me thinks as Spain ran out 4-0 winners.
Denmark v Belarus
After missing yesterday's training session Hjulmand began in the matchday squad as a substitute. Despite taking a first half lead by the time the lions captain was introduced on 70 minutes, they trailed 2-1. They levelled on 78 minutes and the final score finished 2-2 keeping Denmark top with qualification for the World Cup very much in their own hands if they avoid defeat to Scotland in their next match.
Greece v Scotland
No Ioannidis of course having left the Azores on crutches and set to be out for a month minimum. Vagiannidis started for the Greeks and played the full 90 minutes in a 3-2 victory. Having already been mathematically lost their chance to finish in the top two of the group the win certainly benefited Hjulmand’s Denmark after their failure to secure qualification in the groups other game.
Sunday
Colombia v New Zealand
Luis Suárez sits the entire friendly that took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the bench looking on. Could be mad and say how pointless taking him but when Pavalidis was taken off injured for Greece I'll be thankful for small mercies instead. The Colombians finished 2-1 winners.
Mexico v Uruguay
Maxi Araújo was named amongst the substitutes. Came on to play the last 17 minutes which was enough time for him to pick up a booking. Final score 0-0.
Portugal v Armenia
Rui Silva, Trincão and Inácio manage a total of 0 minutes combined as the Seleção made up for their midweek humiliation of the mighty Irish with a thumping 9-1 win though only after the Armenians had equalised and early Portugal goal.
Monday
Chad v Mozambique
Geny again started for Mozambique. No Dominguês this time around, clearly two games in four days now beyond the 42 year old. A goal for the lion from the penalty spot in a 2-2 draw with a stuttering runup before slotting it calmly into the bottom left hand corner sending the Chad keeper the wrong way. The home side had taken the lead one minute into additional time at the end of the first half, Geny had made the score level on 78 minutes. Chad thought they'd found the winner on 90 minutes but Mozambique found the equaliser once more on the 5th minute of additional time. Final score 2-2.
Egypt v Cape Verde
A start for David Moreira who plays 72 minutes total. The islanders with a creditable 1-1 draw however they lost again on penalties, this time 2-0. Are they practicing with a view to the knockouts at the World Cup next summer? Dream big. Yes brothers!
Tuesday
Oman v Côte d'Ivoire
Finally a start for one of Europe's leading young centre backs ... at left back. Hmmm. Still Diomande does at least play the full 90 minutes in their 2-0 win.
Belarus v Greece
Another lion sat watching on for the entire game as Vagiannidis fails to feature in a 0-0 draw.
Scotland v Denmark
What idiot wrote Denmark had one foot in the door of the World Cup after their last game. Trailing 1-0 at half time they equalised in the second half through a bizarre penalty award. Robertson penalised for a foul deemed to be inside the area however play was allowed to go on in real time and the referee didn't award a free kick. VAR intervened and made him go to the monitor. John McGinn then threw himself to the ground to earn a second yellow for Kristensen and the Danes were down to ten men. Scotland regained the lead only for Denmark to level and at that stage it was they who were set once more to qualify. Hjulmand in English means wheelman which is ironic given his poor attempted clearance led to Tierney scoring Scotland's third and the Dane's wheels fell off. Their misery completed when McLean spotted Schmeichel off his line and scored from the half way line to see the Scots home 4-2. I'm going to be super pissed if Ireland draw Denmark now.
Bulgaria v Georgia
Kochorashvili returns from his suspension to start and play the full 90 in a 2-1 loss. He does however complete an impressive 104 passes of an attempted 112.
Czech Republic U21 v Portugal U21
Quenda starts and gets another 70 minutes under his belt. Travassos came on for the last 20 minutes as the young Portuguese could only draw 0-0
Romania U21 v Spain U21
I often read online fans attacking Fresneda for his lack of attacking play whereas I'm always writing how impressed I am with him getting forward and how underutilised he is especially on the overlap. Which all leads me to say not only did he play the full 90 but assisted the opener and scored the second.
Wednesday
USA v Uruguay
Maxi Araújo started in his more favoured position on the left wing and presumably could only watch behind and think I'm glad I didn't start at left back as the US raced to a 4-0 lead. Final score 5-1 with Araújo withdrawn 18 minutes from time.
Colombia v Australia (NY)
A start also for Luis Suárez who fails to find the net once more and withdrawn after 70 minutes. I think it is becoming all the more apparent with every game as to why the Colombian ended up playing second division football in Spain. We are going to lose a serious amount of money on this kid.
Sporting CP Admin
With the international break in full swing a chance for the remaining players to press for a place in the matchday squad for AC Marinhense with a behind closed doors game at Alcochete against Belenenses.
Starting XI
Virgínia, Reis, Morita, Alisson, Ramos, Lucas, Justo, Quaresma, Anjos, Nel and Mangas.
Final score 2-2 with the lions goals coming from Anjos and Mangas.
***
Sporting B coach João Gião adds mister of the month for September/October to the award he won in August. Not sure how two months can constitute a coach of the month award but there we go.
***
Federico Varandas fires shots at Porto and Benfica including a superbly funny defence of Mateus Reis. I won't do it justice if I try to summarise it here so the statement can be found on the link below 👇
In the markets
Sporting CP - 1/40 1/100
Draw - 18/1 28/1
Atlético Clube Marinhense - 33/1 50/1
Note Ladbrokes have suspended betting on the lions and have Marinhense at 60/1
Team News
Maxi Araújo will serve his one man suspension. Simões, Gonçalves and Ioannidis are injured. Hjulmand who had injury concerns going into the Scotland game will not be available. Salvador Blopa who made his debut in the win over Alverca in the Taça da Liga is included in the matchday squad. Nuno Santos has returned to training as his rehabilitation continues following the injury which has kept sidelined for months. Sporting B away to Chaves at 11am Sunday so we'll wait to see how many youngsters are called up for the game in comparison to Alverca.
Starting XI
Virgínia, Vagiannidis, Quaresma, Reis, Mangas, Kochorashvili, Morita, Blopa, Alisson, Trincão and Ribeiro
Substitutes
Silva, Quenda, Geny, Fresneda, Ramos, Gonçalves, Lucas, Justo and Suárez
AC Marinhense starting XI
99 Framelin, 2 Neto, 4 Gomes, 10 Dedé, 15 Abreu, 17 Veira, 24 Oliveira, 35 Martins, 45 Batalha, 66 Diallo and 77 Omrani
The entire first XI from the win over Santa Clara changed bar Trincão who retains his place. Silva, Quenda, Geny, Fresneda and Suárez options off the bench. Blopa and Ribeiro given roles in the starting XI and just 4 youngsters on the bench this time with the B team playing tomorrow as previously mentioned.
First Half
The lions now start 1/1000 to win tonight's game as an indication of how monumental a task Marinhense are faced with in tonight's tie. Sporting attack right to left in the opening half wearing green and white halves. The visitors get us underway.
6 Allison with a good run down the left found Ribeiro free in the centre. He tries an audacious flick but only succeeds in killing the pace on the ball from 6 yards and into the hands of Framelin
7 Trincão tries from 23 yards and hooks his shot wide
11 Trincão tries from 19 yards and his shot takes an awkward bounce before arriving at Framelin who uses his body to clear the ball to safety rather unconvincingly
12 First attempt from the visitors fired high and wide from 30 yards
12 Corner near side to Sporting
13 Stoppage in play as Omrani receives treatment on his shoulder. Marinhense will be down to ten men when the corner is finally taken
14 Finally we're back underway and Mangas sportingly with a shit delivered corner in allows the ten men to clear easily. Not sure what's worse his delivery or his Barnet
15 Big save from point blank range as Ribeiro held off his marker to get his shot away from 8 yards deflected for a corner
16 Corner near side finds Vagiannidis who heads over from six yards
17 Another stoppage as Framelin receives treatment
19 Alisson's shot centrally from 12 yards blocked
20 Alisson leaves his marker on his backside and plays the simple pass to Ribeiro who finds himself with two defenders in front and one behind. Works space for himself to get a shot away from 14 yards which is saved by Framelin
21 Wag of the finger from Kochorashvili at the referee as he conceded a foul on Martin's
22 Omrani penalised for a shove on Quaresma gives a wry smile as his shot was blocked by the foot of Reis and play brought back for the original infringement outside the lions area
23 Borges self soothing on the touchline with a rub of the back to the head. Feeling your pain Rui
24 Pass back to Virgínia presumably to check he's still awake
25 Blopa shot wide right deflected from 9 yards behind. Wouldn't have counted as offside flag shown in the build-up
27 The visitors with a rare foray into the lions half have gone forward in numbers. By numbers I mean 3. Mangas wins the ball back
28 Marinhense sat in a rigid 5-3-2 ...
28 GOAL Sporting CP 1 AC Marinhense 0. Kochorashvili with a great interception on the edge of the box plays Blopa in close to the byline and the youngster floats a ball to the edge of the 6 yard box which Trincão heads home
30 Blopa clearly buoyed by the assist beats his marker on the right but runs into another two defenders and wisely cuts the ball back
30 Trincão with the party tricks on the edge of the area and the visitors cannot get near him
31 Corner far side is headed clear but there's no rest bite for the visitors as the lions on the attack once more
33 Good work by Alisson on the left found Ribeiro inside the area but the youngster just couldn't bring the ball under control
33 Kocho shot from the D is blocked
33 Ribeiro effort goes wide and out for a goal kick
34 Ribeiro flagged offside. He had a great view across the line and should have timed his run better there. So far maybe a bit too eager tonight to impress
36 Blopa fires in a cross into the six yard box which is cleared
37 GOLAZZO Sporting CP 2 AC Marinhense 0. Sensational from Trincão as he bends his shot into the bottom left hand corner from 23 yards. With his back to goal, one touch to turn, one to make the space and then the final shot which left Framelin kicking the post in frustration. The difference in the level in quality simply too great for the visitors there
39 Oliveira hocks a shot into the stand from 27 yards centrally
39 Marinhense now sat in a block of 5-4-1.
40 Ribeiro tries a flick from 3 yards and Framelin flings his hands in the air like someone jumped out from behind a door catching him unawares and frightened him. He didn't know too much about it but somehow gets it away for a corner
41 Alisson smashes an effort against the bar from 11 yards and Blopa picks up the rebound and shanks his shot wide from 8 yards. Trincão with a few words in the ear of the youngster presumably telling him to take his time next time. Alisson shakes his head with a smile on his face probably trying to work out how it's not 3-0 and if the bar will ever stop shaking
42 Framelin down receiving treatment again gets whistles of derision from the Sportinguista's behind his goal
44 Sign up in the crowd for Batalha. If I knew Portuguese I'd let you know what it read. As I don't …
Plus four shown
45 Sporting have the ball in the net as Mangas found Ribeiro who slotted home from 8 yards but the top of his body clearly in an offside position and easy call for the assistant to make
+1 Save from Virgínia from Martins who fired low from 24 yards. Best effort from the visitors all night and to be fair their only shot on target
+2 Ribeiro stings the hands of Framelin wide right with a shot from an acute angle towards the near post and out for a corner. That was struck with real venom and will have stung the hands like a child without gloves playing in the snow
+3 Blopa shoots, again from an acute angle to the near post and brings another save
+3 Kochorashvili shot deflects for a corner far side
Half time
Sporting CP 2 AC Marinhense 0
All too easy for the lions as you'd imagine against lower league opposition. Trincão the star of the show with both the goals. Ribeiro causing the defence plenty of issues. Alisson and Blopa providing plenty of ammunition down the flanks. The youngster guilty of not enough quality on his final ball at times and yet still claimed the assist for the opener. Something to cheer about for the visiting fans at least when Martin's brought the save from Virgínia late on but in truth they've barely been over the halfway line and when they have it's resulted in wild shots other than the one just mentioned. If they're feeling tired coming off at half time they're going to find themselves super stretched as the game goes on and the gap in fitness really starts to show. I wonder at what stage Borges starts to think about giving some more of the youngsters a chance. Be nice to see Flávio Gonçalves get a decent run out in the second half. Everything I've seen from him for Sporting B has really impressed me.
Second half
Marinhense out first for the second 45 wait patiently for the lions.
Sporting get us underway
➡️⬅️ Rayan Santos on for the visitors for Dedé. He's wearing Ryan on the back of his shirt so maybe Rayan Lucas’ shirt in pre-season wasn't an error. Or maybe it's a double error...
46 Kochorashvili with a brilliant ball inside the box to Mangas who elects not to shoot and instead passes to a defender. If you had him to score anytime you'd have thrown the remote at the TV there. He was looking for Trincão to complete his hat-trick
47 Alisson stings the hand of Framelin from 17 yards who was down smartly to his left to save the low effort
48 Free kick 28 yards out taken by Kochorashvili who gets it all wrong and hooks the ball over the bar
49 Omrani struggling with his shoulder again which looks like it keeps coming out of joint. Any other game he'd have come off by now surely but you'll have to get him off in a body bag tonight
53 ➡️⬅️ Costa replaces Omrani. OK get the body bag at the ready on the far side
54 Blopa whips a ball in wide right which Framelin fails to deal with properly and he's let off the hook as Ribeiro pulled up for a foul inside the area
55 Blopa tries to find Vagiannidis but the defence shepherds the ball out for a goal kick. Good variance from the youngster second half with the type of pass and cross
56 Ryan / Rayan with a shot from 19 yards straight into the arms of Virgínia. Second on target from the visitors
57 Give and go from Blopa into the edge of the box who continues his run and wins a corner. Very impressive second half from the youngster. I think like Alverca he was maybe too pumped on adrenaline first 45
59 Ribeiro charges down a back pass and Framelin fires against the youngster and the ball goes just wide of the near post from 27 yards sparing his blushes with the goal wide open
59 Quenda presumably about to come on as he receives instructions from the coaching staff still in his full training kit
60 Mangas cross from the left probably catches himself just as unawares as it lands on the cross bar
61 Yellow shown to Costa who catches Mangas late
62 Morita scoops a pass over the defence to find Alisson but the Brazilian ran out of room
63 The visitors life about to get harder as Suárez walks to the side. He's in need of a goal and a confidence boost. Arm round the shoulder of Flávio Gonçalves from the mister
64 Trincão laughs with a big grin on his face as Marinhense awarded a free kick outside their area
65 ➡️ ⬅️ Triple substitution lined up for the lions. Alisson, Trincão and Ribeiro replaced by Quenda, Gonçalves and Suárez
66 Quaresma with a flying tackle comes off worse as Abreu lands on top of him. Concedes the free kick and the two embrace as the lions get ready to defend
67 I think Marinhense had all ten outfield players across the halfway line there as they hurry back and Mangas dispossessed as Sporting tried to counter
69 ➡️⬅️ Batalha awarded a huge round of applause from the home fans as he's replaced by Cobert Junior
70 Yellow to Oliveira as he takes a swipe at Quenda in full flow
71 Quenda and Gonçalves lined up over the ball for the free kick 27 yards out. Quenda it is who curls the ball in and it's headed clear. Should have let Flávio shoot after his effort in Turin
72 Yellow to Martins for a foul just outside the box for a trip on Mangas
73 Ball played to Kochorashvili whose shot blocked from 16 yards as he fires into a sea of defenders
73 Corner won far side as Rafa Gomes elects to clear his lines
74 Reis with a touch on the edge of the six yard box fools everyone including his own teammates as it ran all the way through and Morita on the other side of the box tries from a narrow angle and gets it all wrong and puts it behind for a goal kick
76 Marinhense players already going down with cramp. Not sure if that's real or more time wasting after their first half antics
77 Martins the latest player down. Magic spray applied
78 ➡️ ⬅️ Gomes for Arnold and Martins for Tirso. Arnold looks like he's built like the famous Austrian of the same name. Jesus wept the blokes a unit
80 GOAL Sporting CP 3 AC Marinhense 0. Quenda lays it on a plate for Suárez who simply has to tap home from 6 yards
82 ➡️ ⬅️ Vagiannidis for Fresneda and Blopa for Geny
83 Referee blows up as a Marinhense player down with cramp whilst the lions in full flow down the right. Bizarre from the match official. Not sure Sporting's players now stood by the referee can quite believe that
85 Stretcher brought on. Maybe not cramp. Fresneda, Gonçalves and Geny knock the ball about in a triangle. Diallo limps off very slowly holding his hamstring clearly not wanted the embarrassment of sitting up on a stretcher
87 Suárez shot blocked from 8 yards and out for a corner. Not sure the defender knew much about that
88 Gonçalves shot from 14 yards blocked for a corner having been picked out in space by Fresneda on the right
89 Great combination by Geny and Kochorashvili who dinks the ball back to the Mozambique winger but his shot from 7 yards wide of the post
Plus four shown
90 Another player pulls up far side as Sporting went on the attack. To be fair to whoever it was he didn't go down but his hamstring looks like it's gone
+1 Corner far side to Sporting. Eventually found it's way to Suárez who head over the bar from 6 yards
+3 Smiles from Geny and a thumbs up from Quenda as he switched a pass inside the area but just too heavy for the youngster to get on the end of and out for a goal kick
+3 Geny smashes the ball wide of the left hand post from 20 yards and the referee has seen enough and that's the final action of the second half
Full time
Sporting CP 3 AC Marinhense 0
The final word
No repeat of the cup shock from 61 years ago and in truth it's hardly a surprise given the current cup holders started a massive 1/1000 to win tonight. As the camera zooms around the players on the pitch an opportunity to see how few people were in attendance tonight. Those who did come take the applause of the Sporting players and the cheers go up as Paulinho does his customary wind up arm salute to the fans. Bizarre image of Quaresma in an Argentina shirt by one of the fans in the stands. Really not sure what that was about.
In truth the lions went through the motions for 90 minutes and the gap in quality all too apparent as they barely got out of first gear and still managed an incredibly comfortable 3-0 home win to book their place in the next round.
No offence to the opponents by which of course it will come across as being offensive but this is a game where we've learned little owing to the quality of the opposition but have importantly secured qualification to the next round and finished without picking up any injuries. Not sure they could say the same thing with dislocated shoulders and hamstrings going all around in the final quarter of an hour. For them a chance to see what the big stage is like and credit to them they at least brought some saves out of Virgínia but they never once looked like scoring. Had Sporting's passing in the final third been better they could have racked up the numbers and to fans of AC Marinhense losing 3-0 has a degree of respectability about it for their supporters and players alike.
Mangas elected to try to find Trincão to complete his hat-trick when through on goal instead of shooting. I'm sure the latter wouldn't have begrudged him a goal had he taken the shot on and scored. Alisson smashed the bar in the first half. Ribeiro with one disallowed and on another night fortune might have smiled down upon him and the keeper's clearance which ricochets off the youngster ended up in the net. As always with these games in the early rounds getting the lineups is difficult enough prior to kickoff let alone statistics after the final whistle so I can't tell you the total attempts the lions racked up but it was a lot.
90 minutes in the legs of Kochorashvili and Morita is always a bonus. Both with passes that would make a YouTube highlights reel and others they'll be glad if no one ever sees again. In truth most players guilty of exactly the same thing all across the pitch. The defence with very little to do all night. What was sent Virgínia's way was dealt with incredibly easy and it's no surprise he came away with a clean sheet. Mangas may have finally found his level of quality and I'll push my tongue in cheek and say Suárez too as he finally remembers which side of the post the ball belongs in.
This post has already turned into War and Peace with the women's Glasgow City games breakdowns included hopefully as an added bonus rather than a hindrance. Had I known they were showing them domestically in the UK I'd have given them their own post in hindsight. In short I'll stop waffling and go with my four votes for man of the match. Let's start with Ribeiro. Probably too eager to impress in the opening 45 and maybe trying to also be too clever with the flicks and tricks. Twice guilty of mistiming his runs and being flagged offside in good positions. However he did bring hustle and bustle and plenty of industry and given the visitors always had a sea of bodies in the box what he did manage to create was highly creditable. Be interesting to see what he could have done against a side of a higher calibre who weren't so hellbent on defending in numbers. Despite the lack of a goal an impressive and positive display nonetheless and won't have done his chances any harm. Second goes to Salvador Blopa. Similar to the Alverca game he maybe came into it with too many nerves, too much adrenaline pumping through his veins. Maybe too much pressure on himself given he scored twice on his debut and a need to marry up to that. His ball found Trincão for the assist so he can add that to his growing number of statistics for the first team. His final ball in the first half sometimes lacking and his decision making not as good as it could be. However second half it was far more impressive and I really liked the way he switched his choices up. The run he made with the 1-2 on the edge of the box was really intelligent and he uses both feet to move and distribute the ball. Fair to suggest we'll be seeing a fair bit more of him next season when Quenda departs for Chelsea in the summer. Kochorashvili gets my third vote. The quality of the final ball wasn't always there but when it was it came with real quality and split their defence in two. Yes we need to caveat everything against the level of opposition but those are the type of passes we so desperately need in bigger games and he's clearly capable of it and will no doubt get more opportunities next season when Morita has departed and possibly Hjulmand to. The less we say about his free kick the better but nonetheless a really positive and pleasing performance. Finally, who else could it be but the goalscorer of the opening goals Trincão. When he smiles and is happy everything seems alright with the world once more and it's been a few weeks since we've seen that from him. There were times in the opening 45 when he was unplayable and for want of a better expression he was just taking the piss out of their defence and I'm here for that everyday of the week. That's what people pay their money to go and see. His second goal was sublime. Three great touches to control, turn, open up the space and pick the corner with the finish. Wonderful to watch and my deserved man of the match.
Next up Champions League on Wednesday night as we welcome Club Brugge looking for revenge.
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