The host, Sporting de Tomar, won the Portuguese Roller Hockey Cup for the first time on Sunday, defeating Sporting in the final on penalties (3-1), after 5-5 at the end of extra time.
In a duel of lions, Sporting was looking for the fifth Cup, while Sporting de Tomar, for the second time in a final, was looking for an unprecedented achievement.
The game was full of emotion, with several comebacks on the scoreboard and a lot of nerves, leaving the decision to the Sporting fans who were playing at home. On penalties, Tomar’s team scored three, compared to one for Sporting.
Even conditioned by the absence of Ângelo Girão, João Souto and also coach Alejandro Domínguez, sent off the day before in the contentious semi-final against Óquei de Barcelos, Sporting took the initiative in the final.
More expectantly, Sporting de Tomar waited for an opportunity to surprise their rival and the good performance of goalkeeper Marante kept the ‘nil’ until the ninth minute, when Nolito made it 1-0 with a well-placed cross shot.
The formation of the house, which revealed some initial difficulty in the transitions, had to be broken. The answer came from a penalty, with a conversion by Lucas Honório, restoring equality, in the 13th minute.
Galvanized by the goal and the support of his fans, Tomar improved and the Sporting bench felt it, calling for a time-out.
But the game had changed and Sporting de Tomar took the lead in the 21st minute, with Pedro Martins going around the goal to score, and extended Ferruccio’s 3-1 lead just after half-time.
Sporting seemed to be fading away, but they immediately reacted, through Matías Platero, with a goal that launched the Lisbon team into a phase of certain promotion.
With such insistence, the ‘lions’ of the capital reached the tie, after a free kick that Marante saved Nolito, but that the Argentine managed to convert on the rebound.
The home team showed signs of wear and tear and, in a counterattack, five minutes from time, Toni Pérez took advantage of a gap in the opposing defense to put Sporting back in the lead, with a shot from midrange.
Two direct free kicks could unbalance the score for Sporting, but it was Tomar who managed to equalize with a free kick: José Diogo Macedo even blocked an attempt by Tomás Moreira, but, in the second foul, the number 7 made it 4-4, 50 seconds to go.
In extra time, Nolito -one of the figures in the final- surprised Tomar with a shot from long range, just past the center of the court, ending the first half.
It seemed like the final move, but, in the second part of extra time, Sporting de Tomar resorted to their last energies for the final pressure and managed a penalty, which José Diogo Macedo still saved, but Lucas Honório successfully reloaded, leveling again the reunion score
In the penalty shootout, Sporting only managed one shot, while Tomar hit three attempts, thus winning the Portuguese Cup for the first time, after succeeding FC Porto.
Source: TSF
