Benfica talisman Rui Costa hopped off the bench to fire the second half winner as the hosts advanced to the semifinals of the Taça de Portugal with 2-0 win over second flight Moreirense on Wednesday night.

US international Freddy Adu got the starting nod as a roaming support striker, and picked up a yellow card for simulation during his 55 busy minutes of play.

The young American was influential in the early going, but Óscar Cardozo was unable to finish his eighth minute set-up.

Benfica continued to carry play and Adu got the short end of the stick on a foul call on 30 minutes. The US starlet appeared to be tripped up in the area for a legitimate penalty kick, but referee Elmano Santos set the free kick just outside the eighteen and showed the #30 shirt a highly questionable yellow for tumbling forward.

Other than that poor decision, Adu enjoyed a strong first half, with two shots on goal from several quality rushes. He was, however, lifted 10 minutes out of intermission in an Eagles double switch.

The breakthrough came from one of those subs in the 70th minute. Cardozo chested down a Nuno Assis cross into the path of Rui Costa, who abruptly ended the visitors 515-minute shutout streak with the flick of his boot.

Adu's replacement, Ariza Makukula, added an insurance tally from a Mantorras flick-on with three minutes remaining.

Benfica resume league play with an away derby against Sporting Lisbon on Sunday.

Scoring
BEN - Rui Costa 1 (Óscar Cardozo) 70'
BEN - Ariza Makukula 1 (Mantorras) 87'

BEN - Hans-Jörg Butt; Luís Filipe (Rui Costa 55'), Marc Zoro, Edcarlos, László Sepsi, Maxi Pereira, Gilles Binya, Nuno Assis, Freddy Adu (Ariza Makukula 55'), Óscar Cardozo (Mantorras 76'), Ángel Di María