After leaving Estádio da Luz bowed to a heavy defeat (5-0), which kept him out of the Portuguese Cup, on Saturday, the 21st of the current month, in front of a record attendance in women’s football matches in our country (15,032 spectators ) Sporting proposes to correct the image, four days later, in a new derby, this time in the League Cup, on Wednesday the 25th, and at Benfica Campus (Seixal).
This Tuesday, and in the preview of the meeting – first leg of the competition’s semi-finals – Sporting’s coach, Mariana Cabral, considered that the lack of big secrets from both sides spices up the show. «We know how Benfica plays, and Benfica knows how we play», she said.
«Obviously, the way we play involves some risk in the way we build the game, how we attack. It’s part of the benefits we want to take from it», admitted the coach of the lionesses, aware that the team she guides needs to evolve.
«First, we have to think about growing, evolving. We have the notion that we are a very young team, without the maturity or competitive experience that many of the Benfica players have», acknowledged Mariana Cabral, bluntly.
«It’s part of Sporting’s project: that’s what we have to do and what we have to propose», agreed Cabral, happy to also appear in the attendance record in women’s football matches, in Saturday’s derby, in Luz, for the Portuguese Cup… but aiming for much more.
«It’s always important to break attendance records, but the numbers can be much better», said Mariana Cabral, aware that the evolution of national women’s football is growing, but it is still far from being concluded.
Like the coach, Bruna Lourenço also hopes to «be part of an ambitious Sporting Wednesday» against the eternal rival.
«We have to be in all the competitions until the end and win them! And this one is no exception to the rule. It’s a different game, in a different competition. It’s a two-legged tie, and to be Sporting, you always need to be extremely demanding», said the centre-back, regular starter and again a candidate for the eleven, in a new clash with the eagles.
