Belenenses claimed a 2:1 victory over Lusoano Évora 1911 in the 1/128-finals of the Portuguese Cup on Saturday night. The away side took all three points despite a tight first half that ended goalless. To be fair, neither team dominated the early exchanges, though the visitors moved with slightly more purpose.
The hosts held 48% possession while Belenenses managed 52%, a marginal edge that showed in their approach. Lusoano registered 88 attacks compared to 85 for the visitors, though the breakdown of those moves remains unclear from the available numbers. And here's the thing — the shot statistics don't add up much, with both sides showing zero shots on target yet finding the net.
What happened on the pitch defies the clean sheets the stats suggest. Six yellow cards flew for the home side against three for Belenenses, despite zero fouls being recorded in either direction. The goalkeeper made no saves for either keeper, which tells you something about the flow of the game.
Lusoano had been building momentum recently with that 2:1 win over Mafra, but this cup tie brought a different kind of challenge. They've not won since that victory, adding a 0:0 draw and three losses to their record. By then, the pressure was mounting.
Belenenses arrived with form to match — five straight results including that 5:0 hammering of União Santarém. They've nothing to lose in these early rounds, and the away end never stopped encouraging their side through the ninety minutes.
The result moves Belenenses into the next round while Lusoano's cup campaign ends at this stage. The goal difference sits at +1 for the visitors, but in a match like this, the margin means little compared to who advances.