“Pleased” with the focus of the team and the “respect for the opponent” that his players showed in the victory over Vilar de Perdizes (2-0), Sérgio Conceição said that this was “a good test to the patience” of the blue and whites and “a good game to return to the competition and victories”, a competition in which the objective is “to be in the final again”. Eager to have good news from the medics for “the important cycle” ahead, the coach praised Franco, who “was very well in the game” playing as left fullback “similar to Wendell”, without “blocking the space to Galeno in what is good at”. Upfront, Evanilson scored right after going in, but there was a word of appreciation to Fran Navarro: “The important thing is that he gives it all when he is on the pitch, he tries to score goals, which haven’t come yet, but they certainly will in the future because he is a player who works hard”.

Match analysis
“It was a good game. We had to take control against a team that was trying to make our life hard. Nowadays, the Portuguese lower divisions work well. It was a good test to our patience, we scored two goals and we could have scored more. It was a good game to return to the competition and to victories, a competition in which we want to be in the final again. There are always things at the end of the game that we look at and see that we could have done differently, but, overall, it was what we expected: Vilar de Perdizes defending in the back, where there is little room for us. We had to keep looking for this space to feel comfortable. We scored two goals, we could have scored more, but we were always balanced, as we knew they have fast players in the attack. The team was focused and reacted quickly to losing the ball, had respect for the opponent and, when that happens, I am pleased.”

News from the medical staff
“I hope so [to have good news from the medical department]. If you have all the players at your disposal, we will be stronger, without a doubt. We have an important cycle ahead and that would be vital. We know that Marcano cannot be recovered, the others we are analysing day by day, knowing in advance that we have a lot of players out.”

André Franco's adaptation
“We work with the goal of giving the team quality in the different sectors to win games. Franco, like Wendell, is a player that moves up well, has a lot of passing ability. Wendell has already scored one or two goals because he shows up in areas, as we work it. Today, André did the same. He was very well in the game, he was another midfielder when we attacked, as usually happens with Wendell and João Mário. Pepê, when he plays as fullback, and Martim are more like wingers. Keeping this in mind, in order to not block Galeno's space in what he is strong, we went for balance. We knew that we would almost always be in our attack, trying to break their good organization. On top of their good organization, they have a tough and super motivated team. Players always give something more in these games and it's understandable.”

Compliments to Fran Navarro and Evanilson
“They are different players. Fran today had more difficulties because he is a player that attacks spaces, very skilled in the area, in finding space for through passes, but it has been more difficult for him. Evanilson is a player who connects the game well and he has excellent technic, but I’m sure that Fran would also score were he in that situation. It's part of the game. The important thing is that he gives it all when he is on the pitch, he tries to score the goals, which haven’t appeared yet, but will for sure in the future because he is a player who works hard.”