Days earlier a fifty strong group of hooded fans attacked players and officials at the Sporting Alcochete Academy and the club even considered pulling out of the final but the players decided to go ahead.
It was a historic day for the club from Vila das Aves as they beat crisis-ridden Sporting 2-1 at the Estádio Nacional to claim their first ever Taça de Portugal.
It was Sporting who started the brighter of the two teams with Gelson Martins having two great opportunities to open their account but veteran keeper Quim was on hand to maintain the status quo.
The 42-year-old keeper played in nearly 400 Primeira Liga games for SC Braga and Benfica, winning five major titles with the latter, and made thirty-two appearances for the Portuguese national side.
But this would prove to be his finest hour. Aves however made full use of their first counter attack when Braga crossed for former Sporting youngster Alexandre Guedes to beat Rui Patrício from close range.
Aves continued to be a nuisance to Sporting who looked pedestrian going forward for the remainder of the first-half. Rodrigo Soares on another counter attack almost doubled the lead for Aves.
At half-time Jorge Jesus replaced the once again ineffective William Carvalho with Fredy Montero, the hero of the 2015 final against SC Braga, when Sporting had to come back from a two goal deficit.
Sporting took charge in the second-half but Aves defended well and just after the seventy minute mark they once again counter-attacked when Gelson Martins lost the ball in midfield. Alexandre Guedes went past Sebastián Coates and slotted the ball past Rui Patrício to prompt great scenes of celebration from the Aves fans as their Lisbon counterparts started to leave the stadium in shock horror.
Sporting almost pulled one back within minutes, after Bas Dost had the best chance of the game. Bruno Fernandes saw his curling effort stopped by Quim only to see the ball fall to the Dutchman, who with an empty goal, somehow managed to hit the bar. Sporting created a tense finish as Fredy Montero brilliantly engineered an acrobatic effort to pull a goal back five minutes from time but it was too late for Sporting who were repeatedly denied by Aves veteran keeper Quim.
There were seven minutes of stoppage time but Aves held out to record an historic victory that propels them into the Europa League group stages, a tremendous achievement for José Mota and his team.
For Sporting, the turmoil continues and the inquisition as to what has turned a promising season into a nightmare end will continue through the summer and beyond.