FC Porto is in the semi-finals of the Portuguese women’s football cup for the first time. The unprecedented qualification of the Porto players, who compete in the II National Division, was guaranteed after a dramatic shootout on penalties (6-5), against Marítimo, from the League, which followed a game that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Madeira’s match opened with Marítimo’s goal, scored by Fatumata Sissé in the opening minute. The islanders’ advantage lasted until the 55th minute, when Lara Perruca restored equality for the Porto team.
The 1-1 did not change during the remainder of the regular time, nor in extra time, making it necessary to resort to penalties to find the winner of the tie.
During the penalties, Marítimo’s goalkeeper, Nicole Panis, started by defending shots from Galochas and Cristina Ferreira and left her team in a privileged position to guarantee qualification.
But Jenna Holtz and Jana Radosavljevic have a shot à Doll which was returned by the bar, the Madeirans’ last two attempts failed, taking the decision to a kind of “knockout”, in which FC Porto prevailed. Fatumata Sissé, who had opened the scoring, wasted the decisive penalty.
As blue and white advance to the semi-final of the Portuguese Cup, where they will face Vitória, from the League, who on Saturday beat Rio Ave (3-0).
This Sunday afternoon, the quarter-finals of the women’s Portuguese Cup will be completed with the games Sp. Braga-Rio Ave (2pm) and Torreense-Benfica (4pm).
