We
were at the 2017 Lisbon Tournament Cup Semi-Final
stage and from the 16 teams who started the day
we were down to the final 4. We had 1 Brazilian
team, 2 Portugese teams and 1 English team all
still in the hunt for glory.
Up
first was Cruz Del Sur A versus Wonderleague.
Cruz Del Sur A were the sole representatives from
England and were in high quality company in the
Semi-Finals. That should not worry them as they
had beaten both Group A and Group B winners. They
certainly had the quality to go all the way.
Wonderleague
came from the same group as Cruz Del Sur A and
would feel confident having finished two places
and five points above their opponents in Group
B. They had also defeated Cruz Del Sur A 1-0 in
these teams final group fixture. The Portuguese
team had also warmed up for this game with a 5-0
victory over ADP Netherlands.
Cruz
Del Sur A came into this game on a high having
defeated the highest ranked team in the group
phase and were clearly pumped after that result.
All that momentum would have disappeared after
they conceded an early goal in the Semi-Final.
Bruno Miguel Fernandes Pinto scored with the game
less than a minute old which put Cruz Del Sur
A on the back foot. Dom J Taveres added a quick
second and already Cruz Del Sur A had a mountain
to climb.
When
Jacinto made it 3-0 it looked like all hope was
gone. Tom Obafemi scored to reduce the deficit
to 3-1 and give the English a flicker of hope.
Jacinto then extinguished that with his second
of the game and fourth of the tournament to make
it 4-1 to Wonderleague. The Portuguese had qualified
for the Cup Final.
After
3 Cup Quarter-Final defeats, Cruz Del Sur A had
broken that hoodoo today and recorded their best
finish with a Cup Semi-Final. Despite that they
will no doubt have felt disappointed but they
shouldn't do. They'd performed well and maybe
next time they can reach that first Cup Final.
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