After the 2-1 defeat against Sporting, Vasco Matos confessed that it was difficult to adjust the way Santa Clara lost the match, however the coach was proud of his players.
“It’s hard to lose the game like that, I think my players played an excellent game, they fulfilled our plan, the organization. They were brave Azoreans, we are proud of what they did here, against an excellent team, with a day less than rest. It was a shame, Sporting had the superiority of the game, territorial dominance, control with the ball and, from the moment we conceded a goal, we had four or five goal situations and ended up drawing”
Conformed with the goal conceded in extra time, the Azoreans coach praised the team’s effort, stating that the work carried out was reinforced.
“Then, that’s what happened, it’s part of it. We came out strengthened, our work came out strengthened, our region too and we have to be proud of the work done here by our team. Players with few minutes [ndr: que jogaram em Alvalade] and we don’t give up on our group, on the development of our players and that makes us proud”
- Portuguese Cup 2024/25: Sporting-Santa Clara
Santa Clara celebrates a goal. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Portuguese Cup 2024/25: Sporting-Santa Clara
João Pereira gives instructions. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Portuguese Cup 2024/25: Sporting-Santa Clara
Conrad Harder celebrates goal. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Portuguese Cup 2024/25: Sporting-Santa Clara
Vyktor Gyokeres in a move with Frederico Venância. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Portuguese Cup 2024/25: Sporting-Santa Clara
Vasco Matos, Santa Clara coach. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Portuguese Cup 2024/25: Sporting-Santa Clara
Zeno Debast in a duel with João Costa. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Sporting vs Santa Clara
Vyktor Gyokeres in a duel with Gui Ramos. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Sporting vs Santa Clara
Referee Hélder Malheiro in action, with Hjulmand nearby. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Sporting vs Santa Clara
Hélder Malheiro near Hjulmand. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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- Sporting vs Santa Clara
Geny Catamo with the ball under control. JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
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Pedro Ferreira, scorer of the Azoreans’ goal, showed pride in the team’s performance, which fought until the end of the match.
“We are proud of the work, we were competitive, we fought until the end. In the end, we believed we could draw and we played for the game. I think we did a great job”
The islanders’ player believes that Santa Clara managed to redeem itself from the defeat against Arouca, presenting a very different stance.
“I think this is the way, always competitive, giving our all, trying to give a different image than Arouca and I think we succeeded. This is the image of our team and this is how we are closer to winning”
Pedro Ferreira argues that, given the performance, the Azorean team deserved to at least reach the shootout via penalties.
“We know where we come from, where we were last year, and when we’re not at our limit, we don’t win. That’s the way, to try our game and, if that’s not the case, we’re further away from winning. I see that we fought hard and we could went to penalties”
