Sintrense oust Rio Ave, to face FC Porto in Portuguese Cup round 4 | OneFootball

This afternoon, Sintrense staged one of the biggest surprises of the third round of the Portuguese Cup by eliminating Rio Ave, from the First League, winning 3-2 at the Real Sport Clube Stadium in Monte Abraão. The Sintra-based team, which plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, advances to the fourth round and will face FC Porto at the Estádio do Dragão.

The team from Vila do Conde started off showing better performance and seemed to be in control of the match. Marc Gual threatened early on by hitting the post and, in the 20th minute, opened the scoring with a precise shot into the top corner, following a ball recovery in an advanced area.

However, Sintrense did not give up. As time went by, they gained confidence and, in the 39th minute, Henrique Henriques restored parity by finishing with class and precision a cross from the right.

Spurred on by their fans, Sintrense came out determined in the second half and turned the game around through Valdu Té, who scored twice in just three minutes. The forward made it 2-1 in the 57th minute, pouncing on a rebound from a corner, and increased the lead to 3-1 in the 60th minute with a timely touch amid the chaos, sending the stands into a frenzy.

Rio Ave responded and managed to pull one back in the 81st minute through Karem Zoabi, but the reaction proved insufficient. Zoabi himself had the equalizer at his feet in the dying moments, but the post denied him and confirmed the historic victory for the Sintra team.

With this triumph, Sintrense joins the lower-league teams that have knocked out First League sides and secures a dream trip to the Estádio do Dragão, where they will face FC Porto.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.