6-0 win to advance in Taça de Portugal
22 Nov, 2024
Sporting CP best Amarante FC at home
Sporting Clube de Portugal guaranteed their place in the Round of 16 of the Taça de Portugal, beating Amarante FC 6-0 in the fourth round of the competition.
It was the first game between the two teams since the 1979/80 season, and also the first for Sporting CP's new coaching staff.
The starting XI consisted of Vladan Kovačević, Jeremiah St. Juste, Gonçalo Inácio, Matheus Reis, Ricardo Esgaio, Daniel Bragança, Morten Hjulmand, Iván Fresneda, Marcus Edwards, Conrad Harder and Francisco Trincão.
Sporting CP started to threaten Amarante FC's goal early and opened the scoring after just ten minutes: Daniel Bragança set through Marcus Edwards and the Englishman, after running a few metres and beating several opponents in the area, shot beautifully to make it 1-0.
The second goal came five minutes later, with another assist from Bragança. He crossed low to the centre of the penalty area for Ricardo Esgaio to convert.
This made the task more complicated for the Liga 3 side, who did get into the Sporting CP area minutes after the second goal, although Matheus Reis was alert and removed the danger.
Francisco Trincão took a shot from the middle, saved by goalkeeper Didi was attentive and met the effort. A second shot by Trincão then hit the post, with Conrad Harder failing to score on the rebound.
Less than a minute later, it was 3-0: Trincão took advantage of a defensive error and teed up the unmarked Harder, who shot across through the traffic and into the net.
They took the score to 4-0 before the break: Bragança crossed from the right to the back post, and Marcus Edwards just had to get a touch to turn it in..
Geovany Quenda and Hidemasa Morita came on at the start of the second half, replacing Jeremiah St. Juste and Morten Hjulmand. Esgaio moved back to the middle, with Sporting CP putting pressure on and focusing on the opposition area. Harder's first opportunity saw him shoot way over the top, but the second chance was scored by Trincão, combining with Harder to make it 5-0.
Trincão then tried to score with a somewhat acrobatic shot from the edge of the area, but the Amarante FC defense scrambled it away.
In the 66th minute, Viktor Gyökeres and 17-year-old debutant João Simões came on for Trincão and Gonçalo Inácio.
At the start of the last fifteen minutes, another debut was handed to 19-year-old Henrique Arreiol, who replaced Bragança, and soon after Gyökeres' first shot, from a free kick, hit the woodwork.
Minutes later, another dead ball saw the Swede hit the same post, this time after a slight deflection off the wall.
Sporting CP rounded off the scoring with a penalty in the 89th minute, converted by Gyökeres to take the final score to 6-0.
The team now turn their attention to the UEFA Champions League, where they meet Arsenal at home on Tuesday night.