Torreense 2-0 Fafe (aggregate 3-1)
It’s going to be some party in Torres Vedras, the town located in the west region of Portugal, tonight.
After a tense and hard-fought Portuguese Cup semi-final second leg, two late goals propelled the Liga 2 outfit into the final of the competition, matching a feat achieved once before in the club’s history, in 1956, when they lost the final to FC Porto.
It would be a fantastic story whoever made it to Jamor, given that Torreense’s opponents were third-tier Fafe, whose own incredible cup run had seen them knock out the Primeira Liga trio of Moreirense, Arouca and Braga in previous rounds.
And the visitors were not about to pass up the chance of making it to Jamor without a fight, matching their higher ranked opponents in a feisty first half in which chances were almost non-existent.
After the break the hosts, who are right in the mix for promotion to the top flight, stepped up a gear and started to dominate the match.
Nevertheless, neither team were able to carve out clear chances and with time running out, extra time looked inevitable.
Late goals trigger ecstasy in the stands
In the 84th minute a bad mistake by Fafe goalkeeper Tiago Martins presented Kévin Zohi with a golden opportunity to score, but two retreating defenders just managed to hack the ball off the line as it was about to drop into the net.
The danger was not over though, and when the ball was recycled into the box, right-back David Bruno’s well struck shot was too hot for Martins to keep out. 1-0 to Torreense and the majority of the capacity crowd went wild.
To their immense credit, Fafe refused to give up, finding a second wind and applying heavy pressure on Torreense, and the visitors were further buoyed when the electronic board held up showed the referee had awarded 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Fafe’s resistance was finally broken in the final minute as a counter-attack led to a clear penalty for Leandro Teixeira’s foul on Drammeh.
Captain Stopira stepped up, the 37-year-old club captain dispatching the spot kick into the corner of the net to seal the win.
Torreense will be at Jamor on 24 May to try and prevent Sporting from retaining their Portuguese Cup crown.
