Benfica 4 - P. Ferreira - 1 - Through to the Quarters

I'll start by saying, that i did not watch the game, and that i followed the game through the radio. My game review will be loosely based on what i heard on the radio, and what i have read on online papers and blogs.

Benfica is through to the quarter finals of the Portuguese Cup, a competition that is a very realistic goal for Benfica this season. Beating Pacos de Ferreira by the score of 4-1, the score was really the most impressive thing this Sunday, as Benfica's game continues to suffer from intermittent periods of good play, combined with periods of not so good play to say the least.

Camacho fielded the following players:
Butt in goal; Nelson, Luisao, Edcarlos and Leo, from right to left. In midfield, Katsouranis and Maxi played in front of the defense, while Rodriguez, Rui Costa and Assis, formed the attacking midfield that supported Makukula.

The game had barely started and Benfica saw themselves down on the scoreboard. After some amateurish play by Edcarlos and a second miss by Nelson, Pedrinha would put the visitors ahead on the scoreboard, 2 minutes had gone by. Another slow start, combined with a lack of concentration put Benfica down a goal, the good thing was that there was still 88 minutes to play, and the goal, despite having the usual negative effect, it served has an incentive for the team, who saw themselves down and needing to get back in the game. Benfica did settle down after the 20th minute,and started to control the game, with Rui Costa at the helm, leading the team into the attack, up front Makukula, experienced what Cardozo has been experiencing, loneliness, that takes place every time Benfica decides to play in the 4-2-3-1.
Camacho didn't take long to make the first change, sensing that Benfica was having difficulties in their transition game and couldn't find space to penetrate, Camacho subbed in Cardozo at the 33rd minute mark, for the underachieving Edcarlos, backing up Katsouranis into the defense, while Rui Costa dropped back into the center mid position. Cardozo's entrance didn't only provide Benfica with another target in the box, but it also kept the P. Ferreira defense at bay, which now had to deal with defending 2 forwards. It wouldn't be too long before the difference was felt, and Benfica's dominance came up. Benfica would obtain the equalizer from a Cardozo p.k. that penalized a foul on Rodriguez, inside the box, 40 minutes had gone by, 7 after Cardozo's entrance. Benfica didn't play all that well for the most part of the half, but the last 15 minutes of the half, justified going into the locker room with the score tied.

In the second half, Benfica continued their dominance, while P. Ferreira resorted to playing on the quick counter in hopes they could surprise Benfica. "7" seemed to be the magic number as Cardozo(#7) put Benfica ahead 7 minutes into the half, in another p.k. (if you're keeping score at home - Cardozo scored 7 minutes, after coming on, 7 minutes into the second half, and he wears number 7) this time it was a foul on Makukula, who was pulled down in the box, by the same player who had fouled Rodriguez in the first p.k., this last foul earned the P. Ferreira his second yellow, and subsequent ejection. Benfica was now up on on the scoreboard and benefited from numerical advantage, suddenly the mood of the unusual small crowd(15 thousand and change) present at Estadio da Luz changed, and the fans could now breathe a little easier. Despite the numerical advantage, Benfica didn't dominate as much as they were expected, and kept P.Ferreira in the game by not going for the jugular, still, Benfica created opportunities but always missed that very last piece to put it away. Rui Costa, who had another game for the ages, would eventually put the score out of reach at the 78th minute when he put away an initial shot by Assis, it was the "nail in the coffin" and the goal that put the crowd at ease. Camacho subbed DiMaria for Makukula in the 86th minute. Makukula did not play bad for his first time out, and showed some promise when he paired up with Cardozo, despite being two players with similar physical attributes and similar positioning, they can be distinguished by "head and foot", as Cardozo is much better with the feet, and Makukula is much better in the air, so there is a complementing effect. Rui Costa was subbed right at the 90th minute mark, but not before he offered Assis Benfica's 4th goal, another tremendous play by the maestro. David Luiz came in for Rui Costa who was greeted with a standing ovation from the crowd. The game would end with the scoreboard at 4-1, a scoreline that is somewhat misleading, as Benfica was not as dominat as the scoreboard shows, but dominant enough for at least a 3-1 score line.

An important win that permits Benfica to go ahead in the Portuguese cup, not a very good performance, but a win that lifts up the morale of the team after being under pressure from last week's poor performance. Tuesday brings the drawing for the next round of the Portuguese Cup, and Thursday Benfica starts their Uefa Cup campaign, and what a better way to start the Uefa campaign than with a win?

I am not able to give the usual individual appreciation, as i didn't watch the game, but i'll leave a few words.
Rui Costa, man of the match, it's a shame that this will be his last year, and that Benfica won't be able to send off the Maestro with a league title, hopefully he won't go empty handed. Lastly, I'd like to talk about Edcarlos, who has been given opportunities by Camacho, but can't seem to grab them, tonight he had a disastrous performance, and can't seem to be able to assert himself, I know that it takes time to adapt, as Luisao had a similar phase, but he can't keep on wasting these opportunities. I'd leave a line in regards to Freddy Adu and his absence from games as of late, but i'll leave that one alone. I often exchange thoughts with many readers about Adu, my only hope is that he is being handled correctly and that he hangs in there and waits for his time.

Highlights