Cardozo strike sees Benfica scrape through

Benfica 1-0 Feirense

Benfica squeaked by second division side Feirense 1-0 to advance to the 6th Round of the Portuguese Cup.

A second-half Cardozo goal was enough to see the Eagles through, but not without some nervy moments for the home side as Feirense came close to an equaliser to send the tie into added time on several occasions.

Feirense showed from the start they were not intimidated by Benfica, throwing everything they had at their more illustrious opponents in a “nothing to lose” attitude. The visitors did not create any clear-cut opportunities to score, but were definitely trying to stick it to their hosts with runs down the flanks and taking shots from anywhere and everywhere on the pitch.

Benfica started to impose their game on the 2nd division club in the 17th minute when Nuno Gomes clanked his header onto the Feirense crossbar. Ten minutes later three Benfica players missed a golden opportunity to score from a corner kick as Nuno Assis and Edcarlos both fluffed their opportunities and Katsouranis, back from suspension, rang his strike off the crossbar as well.

Marcio miss

Feirense almost took the lead upon the re-start as Marcio just missed with a header in the 48th minute. The miss would prove costly as Benfica notched the winning goal three minutes later as Cardozo slammed a rebound past Godinho, which took a slight deflection on its way into the net.

After that it was all Feirense as the visitors knew they had to go for it. Two minutes after the goal Butt touched a cross onto his crossbar and with Barge waiting to pounce, Katsouranis was on the spot to clear off goal line. In the 57th minute Butt was almost fooled by a Gabi blast, which took a deflection off Rui Costa.

Barge then gained a step on Edcarlos deep in the Benfica box and the hosts were lucky not to concede a goal as the Feirense forward struck his effort just wide of goal. Five minutes before the final whistle Feirense had their best chance to score as Butt made a mess of a Serginho shot, but Helder spurned the offer and the visitors were eliminated from the Cup.

Despite the win Camacho showed his displeasure at the performance, saying he did not like his team’s display and that the players did not look motivated for the match. A definite improvement will surely be required in the next round if the Eagles are to reach the quarter-finals of the competition.

Benfica:
Butt, Luis Filipe, Luisao, Edcarlos, Nelson, Maxi Pereira (Cardozo, 46), Rui Costa, Katsouranis, Nuno Assis, Nuno Gomes, Di Maria (Adu, 46)
Yellow Cards: Cardozo (51), Di Maria (73)

Feirense:
Godinho, Marcio (Denilson, 85), Hernani, Jorge Silva, Luciano, Serginho, Gabi, Tales, Helder, Jorge Leitao, Barge (Andre Soares, 65)
Yellow Cards: Barge (39)

Goals:
[1-0] Cardozo, 51