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| Tuesday, 07 February 2012 23:42 |
Academica make first Portuguese Cup final in 43 yearsOliveirense 2-2 Academica (aggregate: 2-3) Two goals from forward Marinho (pictured) fired Academica into the Portuguese Cup final for the first time since 1969 in Santa Maria da Feira tonight. Liga Orangina side Oliveirense twice took the lead but that extra bit of experience and guile saw Pedro Emanuel’s men make it to Jamor, where they will meet either Nacional or Sporting.
In an electric first half, both sides had had good opportunities to score before Clemente put the hosts ahead on 18 minutes, turning and shooting home to level the aggregate score. The celebrations did not last long for Oliveirense as just two minutes later Marinho pounced on a loose ball after a goalmouth scramble to make it 1-1 on the night. The home side did not let their heads drop and Adriano’s 28th-minute penalty after Helder Cabral had felled Pedrinho in the box gave Oliveirense hope again. Well-worked goalBoth teams continued to create danger, but one felt the next goal would be crucial, and it was Academica who scored it on 55 minutes as Adrien and Diogo Valente combined neatly to set up Marinho and the ex Sporting youth player made no mistake.Oliveirense now needed two goals to turn around the tie, but were unlucky not to get back into it in the 76th minute as Ivan Santos saw an effort crash back off the crossbar. The Students played out the final minutes without undue alarm to book their place in the traditional showpiece occasion that closes the Portuguese season. The achievement is particularly satisfying for the fans of the Coimbra club having narrowly missed out in last year’s semi-final against Vitoria Guimaraes and having knocked holders FC Porto of the competition in the early rounds of this season’s competition. Pedro Emanuel, Academica coach:“My players deserve to be in the final. It was an exciting game, with strong emotions, and we played well. In the final we’ll have a 50% chance because it’s a one-off game. We’ll be prepared to fight all the way in the final and leave an impression that does justice to the club’s history.”Tom Kundert Follow PortuGOAL on Twitter and Facebook |
Maybe packed wasn't the right word, since 14,357 showed for the match and the stadium holds 30,000.
But, it is an impressive amount since it was the largest attendance so far this year. It actually out drew Sportings attendance (10,454).
Thank you for the correction.
I also wanted to congratulate Coimbra for being voted Europes Cultural City for 2012.