Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Porto - Vitória de Setúbal Taça da Liga match preview

Inaugural Taça da Liga winners Vitória de Setúbal come to Estádio do Dragão to face Porto in third round action of the tournament.

Mariano González commented on first leg of the Taça da Liga match against Vitória de Setúbal:

"Our goal for Thursday is to do our best and win the match. It is our first match in the competition and it would be great to make a successful entrance in it. (Vitória de) Setúbal match preview is the title holder of the League Cup and a difficult opponent, and I am sure they will give their best to defend their position.

"F.C. Porto has found the consistency it was searching for and that is making the difference. It took us more time than it did last season, because we have new players that needed a longer adapting period. The first place in the league is a huge boost for us. It’s the place we like to be at and we have to work hard to maintain it."

The Argentine international commented on his lowered playing time:

"It is natural that I want to play more often and to be on the first squad. That’s the ambition of all players of F.C. Porto. There’s a healthy and loyal competition among the group.

"I will face tomorrow’s match as I do one of any other competition. We have to win the clash, because a false step at this point in the League Cup would make things harder for us in order to qualify for the semi-finals. A title is in game and the pressure to conquer it is high. Furthermore, we play at home and that gives us an additional responsibility."

Jesualdo Ferreira has went into the match with the firm opinion to rest many of his top tier players as he has left out Bruno Alves, Fernando, Jorge Fucile, Helton, Hulk, Lisandro López, Lucho González, Raul Meireles, Cristian Rodríguez and Rolando out of the lineup.