Torreense Stuns Casa Pia to Reach Taça Quarters, Revives Town Spirit

Portugal’s oldest knockout competition has found a new storyline. Torreense, a club from the country’s windswept Oeste region, eliminated Primeira Liga side Casa Pia with a 2-1 win, booking its first Taça de Portugal quarter-final appearance since 1999. For supporters from Torres Vedras, the victory felt less like a cup upset and more like a revival of the town’s footballing identity.

In Brief

• Result: Torreense 2-1 Casa Pia, played on 17 December at the Campo Manuel Marques.

• Goals: Dany Jean 24’, Costinha 64’; Jérémy Livolant (pen.) 81’.

• Historical note: first Torreense quarter-final in 26 years.

• Next opponent: União de Leiria on 14 January, another derby of II Liga neighbours.

• Prize money: the run has already secured an extra €315 000 in FPF premiums—vital for a club whose annual budget hovers around €3 M.

A Shock Heard Along the Tejo

The match tilted early. After a frantic opening, Haitian winger Dany Jean darted through Casa Pia’s left channel and finished low to the far post, electrifying the 4 200 spectators who squeezed into the ground. Casa Pia—whose league form is built on a notoriously compact back line—looked rattled and conceded midfield control. When Costinha doubled the lead midway through the second half, chipping Ricardo Batista from 20 metres, chants of “Tomba-Gigantes” rolled down the concrete terraces.

Casa Pia finally responded: substitute Leonardo Natel won a penalty that Livolant converted with nine minutes left. Yet Torreense’s goalkeeper Ricardo Fernandes, once a Sporting CP academy prospect, preserved the scoreline with two reflex saves deep into stoppage-time.

Blueprint of an Upset

Coach Vítor Martins later revealed that training all week revolved around three principles—“press early, draw fouls, break wide.” The plan forced Casa Pia to bypass midfield, an uncomfortable strategy for Filipe Martins’ possession-oriented side. Torreense’s analysts also spotted that Casa Pia’s full-backs tuck in when building, leaving space behind; both goals exploited that gap.

Psychology mattered too. Assistant coach Rui Carvalho called each player on Thursday night to revisit individual roles, a gesture captain Claro said “made everyone feel indispensable.” In Friday’s final video session the team revisited Torreense’s 1998/99 giant-killing reel—fuel for the belief that lightning could strike again.

Echoes in Torres Vedras

The town has waited long for a headline not dominated by surf reports or wine festivals. Local hotels report a 14 % spike in bookings for the January quarter-final weekend, and the Câmara Municipal is preparing a fan walk from the city centre to the stadium. Economically, the extra FPF prize pot nearly covers the club’s youth-academy budget for a year—a point chairman Rui Alves stressed when asked about January transfer plans: “The priority is to keep the backbone that earned this night.”

Older supporters remember the 1994 run to the semi-finals, halted by Porto, and see parallels. Back then the club rode a similar wave of local enthusiasm before selling two key players to fund stadium renovations. This time, management insists, the ambition is to rise sustainably back to the top flight, something it has not tasted since 1955.

Eyes on Leiria: January’s All-II Liga Quarter-Final

While the Lisbon press focuses on Benfica-Porto story-lines, the upcoming Torreense v. União de Leiria tie could quietly decide which smaller club steals national affection. Leiria, 6th in Liga 2 last season, arrives with a freer-scoring attack—49 goals in 34 league games—but showed defensive frailty in its narrow cup win over Vila Meã.

Key subplots to watch:

Home advantage: Torreense has lost just once in Torres Vedras since September.

Set-pieces: Leiria’s centre-back João Reis scores regularly from corners; Torreense conceded from two corners in its last three league outings.

Momentum: Torreense’s dressing-room is buoyed by the “nobody expects us” narrative, something striker Costinha called “fuel we can’t buy.”

Whatever happens next month, the Oeste club has already re-inscribed its name on the national map. And in a cup famous for levelling hierarchies, the sight of Torreense scarves in the business end of the competition is a timely reminder: Portuguese football’s magic often lives far beyond the big three’s floodlights.