iago Losna on his side's passage into the CERS Cup Final Four

Speaking with radio journalists after netting thre goals in Sporting's 10-3 thrashing of Sarzana, Tiago Losna reaffirmed his side's determination to retain the CERS Cup.

“It was a good match and we are in the Final Four now. That is what we wanted and we know how important it is for the club. We had to start strong and we showed a great attitude. We won this competition last year and we want to do it again this year. We are on the right track, but of course we know we will face more good teams", commented the Alvalade hockey star.

Sporting CP put ten past Sarzana in CERS Cup second-leg

Sporting finished off what they had started in Italy with a 10-3 win against Sarzana in the CERS Cup this Saturday, guaranteeing a place in the competition's Final Four.

Captain Ricardo Figueira had warned that his side would not be sitting back on their first-leg advantage and his statement certainly rang true out on the court, with Tiago Losna striking early for the game's opener. A second soon followed, this time courtesy of Luís Viana from the penalty spot. Completely dispelling any doubt about who would be heading for the Final Four, Tiago Losna bagged his second.

The action was completely one way and Luís was next to find the back of the net with two strikes of his own, shortly after Ricardo Figueira had also tried his luck on the Italians' goal. Turning the screw even tighter, João Pinto pulled a stop out of the Sarzana keeper, before Cacau clinically finished to make it 5-0 five minutes before the beak.

Four minutes before half-time, Sarzana responded from the penalty spot through Luca Sterpini, but the visiting captain was adjudged to have taken two touches of the ball and his goal was ruled out. In reply, João Pinto came close to extending Sporting's lead further, but Alessio Peroni managed to make a save. The sixth wouldn't be long coming though, as Poka recovered possession in midfield and worked play forward with Cacau through a move that was finished off by Tuco.

The second-half got off to a blistering start for the hosts and João Pinto and André Centeno were next to try their eye for goal, only to be denied by goalkeeper Alessio Peroni. Shortly afterwards, Tiago Losna was brought down and a penalty and he himself stepped up to convert and make it 7-0.

Not even one minute had passed when Tuco snatched back possession and instigated a counter-attack that André Centeno blasted into the back of the net to put Sporting eight goals ahead. Credit to Sarzana for not rolling over and a few minutes later the Italians pulled a goal back through Matteo Pistelli. Andrea Perroni also managed to find the net a minute later, but with the difference between the two sides still standing at twelve goals, a comeback would be all but impossible.

Finally quelling the Italians' short-lived resistance, Sporting CP again pushed forward and Cacau scored his second to make it 9-2, before Sarzana stubbornly clawed another goal back. The final goal of the encounter was netted by Cacau, before a bit of drama in the last minute saw Raed receive a blue card for a foul on Luís Viana.

As the final whistle sounded, Sporting comfortably moved into the CERS Cup Final Four and are one step closer to retaining their title.

Ricardo Figueira on the CERS Cup second-leg against Sarzana

Sporting will host Sarzana in the Livramento Arena this Saturday, in the return leg of this year's CERS Cup. Although his side are carrying an 8-2 advantage from the first-leg in Italy, Ricardo Figueira wars that Sporting will not be able to rest easy tomorrow.

“It will be very similar to the first-leg. We have a good lead, but we will still have to be at our best. Italian teams don't just roll over and Sarzana can make it difficult for us. Most of all what we want to do is make sure we don't waste the advantage we already have", affirmed the Sporting roller hockey captain, adding: "We can't take our foot off the pedal at this stage of the season. We have had a good run of results and it has been a good season for us, but we can't trick ourselves into a false sense of security."

Sporting with one foot in CERS Cup Final Four after dominating showing in Italy

Sporting's roller hockey team took an enormous step towards the CERS Cup Final Four this Saturday night, with a 8-2 first-leg win in Italy against Sarzana.

Nuno Lopes' side led 2-1 at the break, courtesy of goals from André Centeno and Luís Viana, while Javier Amat responded for the hosts. Zorro then made it 3-1, before, Poka, Losna, João Pinto and Tuco all contributed to the final score.

The second leg will be placed in the SC Livramento Arena, on the 5th of March.

CERS Cup quarter-final results in full:

- Matera (Italy)-Cremona Hockey (Italy), 10-0

- Sarzana (Italy)-SPORTING, 2-8

- Reus (Spain)-Vilafranca (Spain), 2-1

- OC Barcelos (Portugal)-Amatori Lodi (Italy), 8-4

Tuco shares his thoughts on Saturday's CERS Cup tie

Sporting's roller hockey team will face Sarzana in the first-leg of the CERS Cup this Saturday. Tuco was the player of choice for the pre-match press conference this week, with the Argentinean having spent seven years in Italy, between Novara, Primavera Prato, Breganze, Trissino and Bassano.

“Our main expectation is to leave Italy with a win. We know that this is just the first 50 minutes, but we want to bring a good result back for the second-leg", affirmed the South American in an interview this week, adding: "I was here for seven years, so I am used to the differences. We had a session today to adapt to the court here and it was important for us to relax a bit as well. Now we will rest a bit and start focusing on the match. Sarzana have never been one of the top teams, but at home they are strong."

Sarzana-Sporting will get underway at 21h00 on Saturday, in Sarzana, Italy.

First-leg in Italy on the 6th of February

Sporting CP will face the Italian team Sarzana in the CERS Cup quarter-finals. Hockey Sarzana currently sit in 11th place in their domestic league, with 12 points.

The first-leg will be played in Sarzana on the 6th of February, with the return fixture in Lisbon in March.

Last-16 results in full:

- Matera (Italy)-Alcoy (Spain), 5-3 (8-7 aggregate)

- Follonica (Italy)-Wasken Lodi (Italy), 2-4 (4-6 aggregate)

- Coutras (France)-OC Barcelos (Portugal), 10-19 (8-7 aggregate)

- Uttingen (Switzerland)-Sarzana (Italy), 3-3 (6-8 aggregate)

- St. Omer (France)-Cremona Hockey (Italy), 3-4 penalties (5-6 aggregate)

- Sporting-Cronenberg (Germany), 19-3 (36-8 aggregate)

- Reus (Spain)-Turquel (Portugal), 7-5 (10-7 aggregate)

- Vilafranca (Spain)-Juv. Viana (Portugal), 5-3 (8-6 aggregate)

Quarter-final draw in full:

- Reus (Spain)-Vilafranca (Spain)

- OC Barcelos (Portugal)-Wasken Lodi (Italy)

- Matera (Italy)-Cremona Hockey (Italy)

- Sarzana (Italy)-Sporting

Nuno Lopes on Sporting's place in the CERS Cup quarter-finals

Nuno Lopes was understandably pleased with his side's attitude in the CERS Cup this weekend, turning in a 19-3 win despite already holding a massive lead from the first-leg in Cronenberg.

“We were really strong. We started well and we didn't slow up. We scored five or six really early quite easily. It is normal that the game then slows down a bit with so many changes. The most important thing was the win for the squad and for our fans, who were out there with us again", said the Alvalade roller hockey coach, adding a word on his objectives in the competition: "We believe we can turn in wins, especially after already winning the Super Cup this season. We want to finish as high up the league as possible and to focus on the CERS Cup. We will play against Hockey Sarzana next, which will be hard, but it will be decided in Lisbon and that is important."

Poka on his side's win against Cronenberg

Poka scored the first in Sporting's dominating CERS Cup win this weekend against Cronenberg. Speaking at the final whistle, the Alvalade star proved happy with the final result.

“We played well. We knew that it wouldn't be a really testing game, but we had to show respect for our opponent all the same, which means not just messing around. We scored a lot of goals and that is important", said Poka, before reflecting on Nuno Lopes' squad rotation during the encounter: "It gives us confidence. We all had pretty much the same amount of time playing, which is important. Now we have some important battles coming up, but it is good that we are all on the same level. We are just two steps away from the CERS Cup final and we want to win it again."

Sporting mount up massive 36-8 CERS Cup aggregate

After already putting the tie to bed in the CERS Cup first-leg in Germany with a 17-5 win, Sporting breezed through the second-leg this Saturday afternoon against Cronenberg with a dominating 19-3 win, securing a place in the quarter-finals.

Poka opened the scoring with an effort from range in the 5th minute, before Molet tried to pull the Germans level with a shot that ended up wide of the mark. With the final outcome all but decided in the first-leg, Sporting had the enviable task of trying to tally up an even higher aggregate score and Losna (7') and Poka (8') were happy to oblige with two more early goals. It was all one-way stuff and after Cacau made it 4-0 and could have struck again, but Soriano managed to block his shot on the line.

Although the team from Alvalade were comfortably in the driving seat, Poka put in a particularly fierce performance and again struck in the 12th and 14th minute after some good link-up play with Cacau. With the scoreboard already reading 6-0, Nuno Lopes took the opportunity to ring the changes and the pace of the encounter slowed. Luís Viana was awarded a penalty, but was unable to convert. Both Centeno and João Pinto could have hit the seventh, but the next goal was made to wait until the 19th minute, when Centeno capitalised after Figueira failed from a decent opportunity. There was still time for Vester to pull a goal back for Cronenberg before half-time, although the place in the CERS Cup quarter-finals was really only a matter of time in coming.

The second-half brought a new avalanche of attacking play and Viana made it 8-1 in the 26th minute, before Cacau struck two minutes later after some smart individual play. Huvelmann reduced the difference to 9-2 with a shot from range, but it did little to get the visitors back into the action and Luís Viana brought up 12-2 after a pass from Poka in the 38th minute. Just seconds later, Cacau made it 13-2 after a pass from Viana and Borkei scored for Cronenberg.

The best way to truly show respect for your opponent is by giving them the result the deserve and Sporting were happy to oblige. Losna struck with a powerful shot across goal in the 39th minute (14-3), before João Pinto, Figueira, Losna and Cacau all rounded off the final aggregate score of 36-8.

Cacau ahead of CERS Cup second-leg against Cronenberg

Sporting will host Cronenberg this weekend, in the second-leg of the CERS Cup last-16. While the team from Alvalade tallied up an impressive 12-goal advantage in the first-leg (17-5), Cacau warned that his side will still need to keep their composure.

“We will show respect for Cronenberg and the best way to do that is to play as if we lost or dew the first-leg. We want another win and we want to play well", said the Brazilian international in a pre-match press conference, continuing: "I didn't know that it was Sporting's 10th best win ever in Europe, but we want to do better now. It isn't easy to play in Germany, but we played really well and we want to repeat that at home now."

Sporting-Cronenberg will get underway at 16h00 on Sunday, in Mafria's SC Livramento Arena. The match will be broadcast live and exclusive on Sporting TV.