14 October 2006, by Marco Pereira

Rampant Braga go top of the table

Beira-Mar 0-3 Braga

Braga travelled o Aveiro to face Beira-Mar and recorded a convincing 3-0 victory. Goals from Paulo Jorge, Wender and Ricardo Chaves gave Braga the three points and put the club in good heart ahead of their UEFA Cup match against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.

The win propels the northerners into first place for the time being, and Braga are making definitive statements in the early part of the season that they are to be taken seriously as championship challengers.

There is no time like the present might have been said by Braga, and Paulo Jorge in particular, as Braga immediately got on the scoreboard. Jorge got on the end of a Hugo Leal free kick in the very first minute to head the ball into the net and put the visitors ahead.

After the goal, the game went into a lull with Braga in complete control and Beira-Mar failing to test Portugal’s 3rd choice goalkeeper, Paulo Santos. Feeling a change was needed, Beira-Mar coach Augusto Inacio substituted defender, Ribeiro, for a forward, Vasco Matos in the 18th minute in the hope of sparking his attack into action.

Missed chances

The move proved to be a good one as Beira-Mar created their first good opportunity in the 23rd minute when defender Marco missed a great chance to put his team level as he shot straight at Paulo Santos when clean through.

Beira-Mar were now starting to ask Braga’s defence questions. Jardel uncharacteristically missed an easy header as he was left unmarked but sent the ball wide in the 40th minute, and Beira-Mar went into the break a goal down.

In the 55th minute Jardel got the better of his markers and got on the end of a cross only to shoot wide from point blank range. The missed chances were to prove costly as Braga got their second goal of the game two minutes after Jardel’s second miss.

In-form striker Wender headed a Carlos Fernandes cross past Beira-Mar goalkeeper, Danrlei. It got better for Braga as they sealed victory in the 71st minute when Wender turned from scorer to provider as his cross was met first time by Ricardo Chaves for an excellent third goal.

Before the game ended Jardel missed his third opportunity of the game and Braga substitute Ze Carlos attempted to put his team four goals up, forcing Danrlei into a good save.

Third straight defeat

Augusto Inacio’s team have now fallen to three consecutive defeats, but the coach feels his team deserved more from the game as his players did all they could to get a positive result: “We started the game losing 1-0. Afterwards, we became a little disoriented, but then we started to make a game of it and we were closer to levelling the score than Braga were to scoring their second.”

“In the second half Braga were very efficient. From their second opportunity they scored their second goal. Up until 2-0, Braga were not superior. I believe that the result is unjust for my players who worked until exhaustion.”

Braga coach, Carlos Carvalhal, praised his team’s efficiency in front of goal, especially their play in the second half: “We started the game really well and managed to score a goal, but the team became lethargic in the first 45 minutes. The second half was much better and when Beira-Mar had an opportunity to score, it was us who ended up finding the net. The second goal finished the game.”

Carvalhal is not looking beyond what happened last night as he prefers to keep both feet planted firmly on the ground and continue to work hard for positive results.

“We live by victories and always seek to do better. It’s nice to reflect on the results achieved, but it is still early to think about our position in the table.”

Beira-Mar:
Danrlei, Ribeiro (Vasco Matos, 18), Jorge Silva, Alcaraz, Marco, Tininho, Emerson (Wegno, 61), Diakite, Ratinho (Andre, 76), Jardel, Rui Lima
Yellow Cards: Marco (63)

Braga:
Paulo Santos, Luis Filipe, Paulo Jorge, Nem, Carlos Fernandes, Madrid, Hugo Leal (Frechaut, 62), Joao Pinto (Ricardo Chaves, 53), Maciel (Ze Carlos, 72), Marcel, Wender
Yellow Cards: Marcel (38)

Goals:
[0-1] Paulo Jorge, 1
[0-2] Wender, 57
[0-3] Ricardo Chaves, 71