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| Thursday, 12 January 2012 22:32 |
Taca: Academica edge OliveirenseBriosa leave it late at home They left it as late (to say the least), but an injury time header from Habib was enough to give Academica a 1-0 victory over Liga Orangina Oliveirense in tonight’s Taca de Portugal semi-final first leg. A fine crowd at the Estadio Cidade de Coimbra were treated to an entertaining encounter, which looked to be heading for a stalemate, until the lanky Senegalese intervened with the whistle on Carlos Xistra’s lips.
Having sold Berger and Sissoko to Chernomorets Odessa and Wolfsburg respectively since the transfer window opened, Pedro Emanuel drafted in Habib alongside Abdoualaye, and Marinho up front with Diogo Valente and Eder. Oliveirense, in their first-ever Taca semi-final, started the former Nacional, Porto and Braga centre forward Adriano up front.  It was the 33 year-old (pictured) who had the first opening, reaching a header before the flapping Ricardo could claim the ball, but luckily for the Academica goalkeeper, it flew harmlessly over. That provided the clearest opportunity of a cagey first 25 minutes, but as half time approached, the second tier side began to exert real pressure on their more illustrious hosts. First, Clemente latched onto Adriano’s through ball and slotted past Ricardo, but was adjudged to have sprung the Academica back line too early to stay onside. Moments later, Oliveira burst past Cedric and centred for Ivan Santos, but the forward could only scoop his sliding effort over the bar, under pressure from Adoulaye. The home side briefly eased the pressure when they won a corner, but Oliveirense dealt with that impressively, and controlled the remainder of the half. It was a performance of marked composure throughout the field – except for the penalty area. Having looked sluggish during the opening 45 minutes, Academica emerged for the second half with a more purposeful air about them, backed by a boisterous crowd. The Briosa enjoyed significantly more possession following the restart, but clear-cut chances continued to elude them as the hour mark came and went.  The introduction of Rui Miguel almost yielded an opener, as the much-travelled midfielder raced down the right wing and towards the penalty area, before unleashing a fierce effort, which rippled the side netting. His teammate Diogo Valente, who had been in acres of space on the opposite side of the box, threw his hands up in frustration, encapsulating Academica’s evening. Soon after, Eder forced an excellent low save out of Bruno Sousa. As the game inched towards full time, the home side upped the pressure, only to be repelled by a series of heroic saves from the Oliveirense goalkeeper, the last of which denied Rui Miguel a winner seconds before the four minutes of stoppage time were up. However, the resulting corner was whipped in by Diogo Valente, and Habib was there to nod home from the edge of the six yard box.  The result was somewhat harsh on Oliveirense, who will return north rueing their inability to capitalise on their first half pressure. Academica fans, who saw their side fall at the semi-final hurdle last season, may just begin to dream of Jamor. Academica: Ricardo; Cedric Soares, Habib, Abdoualaye, Nivaldo; Adrien Silva, Flavio Ferreira, Danilo (Hugo Morais 78’); Marinho (Rui Miguel 71’), Eder (Fabio Luis 86’), Diogo Valente. Oliveirense: Bruno Sousa; Nuno Lopes, Diego, Banjai, Chico Silva; Oliveira, Pedro Freitas, Rui Lima (Barge 67’); Clemente, Adriano (Guima 87’), Ivan Santos (Pedrinho 77’). Goals [1-0] Habib 90 + 5’ Ben Shave
Comments (1)
Jamor
1
Saturday, 14 January 2012 12:21
I would love to see an Academica-Nacional final. It would be really refreshing, and competitive too.
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