Santa Clara’s coach, Vasco Matos, regrets the way his team was eliminated by Sporting (2-1) from the League Cup, after all the efforts of the players, who “were truly brave Azoreans”.
Speaking to RTP3, at the end of the match, which was only resolved in extra time, with a goal that resulted from a bad delay by one of the defenders, Vasco Matos said: “It’s hard to lose like that.”
“My players played an excellent game, they were very brave. They followed our planning and our organization to the rules. A very strong word for the players, they were true brave Azoreans. We were warriors. It’s a shame the way we lost”, he said .
Sporting is the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup. Wait for Tirsense or Rebordosa, Oliveira do Hospital or São João de Ver, O Elvas or Vitória de Guimarães, Casa Pia or Rio Ave, Gil Vicente or Moreirense, Farense or Benfica, and Braga or Lusitano.
Game analysis: “It’s hard to lose like this. My players played an excellent game, they were very brave. They followed our planning and our organization to the rules. A very strong word for the players, they were truly brave Azoreans. We were warriors. It was a shame the way we lost. It’s true that Sporting had superiority in the game, territorial dominance and control with the ball, of course, they’re a great team, but we had three or four clear goal situations and we ended up drawing. We all came out stronger, the region too, and we have to be very proud.”
Game keys: “We have a very hard-working team, very organized, they know very well what they are doing on the field and they increasingly believe in our process. This performance on this stage, against this opponent, with several players who play less makes us extremely proud. We have to continue.”
How far can Santa Clara reach? “Our focus is day to day, it’s the development of the team and players. I said before the game that we wanted and could compete on any field and with any team. We showed in this stadium that we are very competitive, we have a lot of ambition and we always believe .”
