Coach Mariana Cabral assumed, in Alcochete, that Sporting wants to “give a better image” against Benfica, in the I women’s football league, than the one left the last time she visited Estádio da Luz.
The ‘lions’ were thrashed there by 5-0, in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, in January, and the coach recalled that Sporting “has to improve and grow”, but focused on its players who “have a lot of to evolve, but they will be the future of the club”.
“We know that the future will be better and we are improving every week. Things are not as fast as we would like, but we are prepared and we want to give a better image than we did when we went to Luz in the last game”, assumed the coach.
Sunday’s meeting will be the sixth derby of the season and Sporting lost all five previous ones, but Mariana Cabral insisted that her players only have to “be focused on what they can do to improve” and guaranteed that the causes of the defeats are identified.
“Obviously we know why we lost, it would be bad if we didn’t. We know what we have to do to improve, to evolve. And I say it in terms of the coaching staff, players, club. Everyone knows and we are going to evolve, we are going to improve”, assured Mariana Cabral.
One of the aspects to be improved by the ‘green and white’ has to do with anxiety, since the last time they played at Estádio da Luz they entered “very anxious for the whole atmosphere” which makes the game “very different”.
But, now, they have already gone through “this” and already have “this experience”, so it remains to “learn and do better” this time, counting for the I Women’s League.
“We have the team with the lowest average age in the women’s I League. We are talking about a lot of people who have to grow, who are evolving and those fruits will come later. And having all available, we will do our best and try to have the best possible image”, insisted Mariana Cabral.
The coach even gave the example of Joana Martins, who “is 22 years old” and is part of the group of players looking to gain more experience, but the average recalled that “experience is not just about age”.
“Young players can also show experience and maturity on the pitch. Sporting’s squad is young, it has that training DNA. But we know the difficulties that Benfica can create for us and we are prepared to face the game on an equal footing”, shot the ‘leonine’ player.
Sporting visit Benfica on Sunday, in a match for the 17th round of the 1st women’s football league, with the start scheduled for 16:00, at Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, with Ana Amorim (AF Porto) refereeing.
After seven defeats against the ‘incarnates’ in different competitions in the last two seasons, the team coached by Mariana Cabral is looking to beat the rivals again, a result that has not been achieved since September 26, 2021.
Source: Futebol 365 by www.futebol365.pt.
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