The third round of the Taça de Portugal is the stage at which top-flight clubs enter the competition. The rules were changed some years ago whereby the draw is seeded and all teams from the top division play their 3rd-round opponents away from home, which has led to a much higher prevalence of surprise results.
This year was no exception with no fewer than seven Primeira Liga teams knocked out of the competition by clubs from the lower leagues.
Sporting humiliated in Alverca
The biggest shock of all came in the very first match on Thursday night as third-tier Alverca heaped more misery on Sporting by beating the troubled Lisbon club 2-0. A goal in each half from Alex Apolinário and Luan Silva gave the hosts a deserved victory. The match ended with the hosts playing keep-ball against a demoralised Sporting to the sound of “olés” from the ecstatic home fans in the stands. The final whistle unsurprisingly triggered a furious reaction from the travelling Sporting supporters, with president Frederico Varandas coming under increasing pressure to step down.
Vitória crash out in Sintra
Saturday brought another big shock as Sintra Football beat high-flying Vitória de Guimarães on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Vitória coach Ivo Vieira had said pre-match that any player not giving 100% would not feature in the high-profile trip to Arsenal in the Europa League on Thursday, but his words did not have the desired effect. Third-tier Sintra almost won the game in normal time as Elvis opened the scoring on 68 minutes, but Vitória seemed to have saved themselves when a late Davidson strike sent the match into extra time. However, no further goals were scored and the home team won the subsequent penalty shootout.
Aves go from bad to worse
Aves are having an awful season and it got even worse for the team propping up the Liga NOS as they travelled to the Algarve and were thrashed 5-2 by Farense. A brace by Fabrício Simões and a goal by fellow Brazilian Cassio Scheid put the hosts 3-0 up at the break. Further goals by Adam Dzwigala and Fabrício Santos confirmed the victory, with a double by Aves’ Wellinton Júnior proving merely consolation goals.
Académica oust Portimonense
It was not a happy afternoon for another Algarve side though, as Portimonense were beaten 2-1 by Académica de Coimbra. South Korean midfielder Hwang Mun-Ki put the hosts ahead in the second half, Jackson Martinez equalised in the 88th minute to send the match into extra time, before Cameroonian Donald scored what proved the winner for César Peixoto’s team.
Tondela surprised by Feirense, late drama as Chaves beat Boavista
In two other second division versus top-flight clashes, Feirense and Chaves, two clubs who were relegated from the Primeira Liga last season, enjoyed a day of Cup glory. Feirense beat Tondela 3-0 thanks to goals from Fábio Espinho, Fati and Christian, while Chaves knocked out Boavista after a dramatic extra-time. The match was goalless after 90 minutes, and a goal by André Luís in the 101st minute seemed to have won it for Chaves, only for Boavista to equalise three minutes from the final whistle. With a penalty shootout looming, Medina scored in stoppage time of extra time to put Chaves into the fourth round.
Beira-Mar roll back the years to knock out Marítimo
Finally, another big shock saw Beira-Mar become the third 3rd-tier team to knock out a club from Portugal’s top division, winning a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw after extra time. The team from Aveiro, a top-flight staple until falling on hard times in recent years, took the lead through André Nogueira early on. Second-half goals by Daizen Maeda and Zainadine turned it around for the islanders, only for Isaac Cisse to send the match into extra time with an 89th-minute equaliser. No further goals were scored and the home team came out on top in the shootout.
Immune from shocks were Benfica, FC Porto and Braga, who won 4-0, 5-0 and 3-1 respectively at Cova da Piedade, Coimbrões and Leça. The draw for the fourth round takes place on Monday 28 October, with the matches scheduled for the weekend of 23-24 November.
By Tom Kundert
