Daniel Podence dreaming of FA Cup success with Wolves
Daniel Podence believes lifting domestic silverware in his native Portugal can help Wolves’ bid for FA Cup glory this season.
Podence bagged a brace and started the move which allowed Nelson Semedo a simple finish for his first goal since May last year as Wolves eased into the fourth round with a 3-0 victory over Sheffield United at Molineux.
Awaiting Wolves, who won the last of their four crowns in 1960, are Premier League rivals Norwich and Podence, a winner of the Taca de Liga with Moreirense and Sporting Lisbon, hopes they can go deep into the competition.
“The cup games are special games for me,” said Podence, who also won the Taca de Portugal with Sporting. “It’s a dream playing in this kind of competition.
“It’s difficult to reach the top three, top four in the league, but we want to and in this kind of competition, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, we can dream to win it because each game is one final, so we can dream about it.
“In Portugal I’ve won two or three with Sporting and Moreirense, I know how to do it and I dream we can do it here.”
Podence was on the fringes of the first team at the start of the season but has now started their last four games and claimed his first goals since scoring in the Carabao Cup defeat against Tottenham on September 22. “I have to push it into the Premier League games,” added Podence on Wolves’ official website. “For me, it doesn’t matter if it’s a cup or Premier League game. I want to enter the pitch to score and assist every game – sometimes the team helps me, sometimes I help the team. As soon as I get on to the pitch, I want to make goals, assist and be happy.”
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom rued a couple of clear-cut opportunities before Podence opened the scoring as they endured an unhappy return to the ground where their relegation from the top-flight last season was confirmed.
“It’s a reminder of the levels, in terms of them being clinical and us with the opportunities,” added Heckingbottom. “We want to be in the Premier League.
“That’s a reminder of the difference of how good you’ve got to be at one end in giving nothing away and how clinical you’ve got to be at the other because chances are much harder to come by.”
