4 November 2006, by Marco Pereira

Ivanildo fires Leiria up to third

Belenenses 0-1 Leiria

Leiria have temporarily shot up to third place in the Bwin Liga standings as they recorded a soggy 1-0 victory against Belenenses at the Restelo yesterday.

An Ivanildo goal midway through the first half gave Leiria their third consecutive win, under heavy rain, while Belenenses’ current win streak ended at two games.

The game started off slowly with both teams creating very little in the way of chances, relying on shots from distance to try and break the deadlock. The first highlight came in the 22nd minute when Leiria got the only goal of the game as Ivanildo was in the right place at the right moment and he made no mistake from an Eder cross.

Leiria’s midfielder, Paulo Machado, then almost doubled the lead just before the break as his free kick brushed against the right post of the Belenenses net. That was the sum action from the first half as both teams headed into the dressing rooms with a dismal first-half performance.

The second half started with Belenenses looking for the equaliser as Ze Pedro sent in a shot that Fernando was more than ready for in the 50th minute and Dady saw his header go just wide three minutes later.

As the game neared its end frustration set in, with Belenenses’ Nivaldo sent off seconds before the full-time whistle as he collected two yellow cards in the space of nine minutes.

Calling the game dull would be putting it mildly. Nonetheless, Leiria will be happy as the club have turned their fortunes around in their last three matches.

Renato landmark

The game had a very special significance for one player in particular, as Leiria’s central defender, Renato, completed his 350th league match. The defender could not be happier and the victory to mark the occasion, making it doubly sweet: “I’m very proud of this,” Renato exuded. “It’s the fruit of hard labour.”

“Luck has always smiled upon me and I’ve never had serious injuries. I believe that these are the factors that have made this possible. To mark 350 games with a victory is even better.”

Domingos Paciencia, Leiria coach:

“It was a different game from what I was expecting. We were lucky to take an advantage early. Afterwards, the pitch hindered the team. We tried for the second goal, but did not manage to get it.”

“We expected to play a tight first half at high speed and then use our bench in the second half, but that was not possible. Seeing the state of the pitch we had to reorganise the team. We have 16 points at this point and it leaves us in a comfortable position for the stoppage in the Liga (international break).”

Jorge Jesus, Belenenses coach:

“It was an uncharacteristic game because the only time Leiria came into our half they scored. Throughout the first half, the game was balanced, without many opportunities to score for either team.”

“The fact that it rained so much took away much of our capacity because we were losing and these conditions end up helping those who are defending.”

Belenenses:
Marco, Sousa (Eliseu, 46), Gaspar, Nivaldo, Rodrigo Alvim, Sandro Gaucho (Rolando, 84), Pinheiro, Silas, Ze Pedro, Roma (Manoel, 60), Dady
Yellow Cards: Ze Pedro (17), Sousa (28), Eliseu (70), Nivaldo (81 & 90)
Red Cards: Nivaldo (90)

Leiria:
Fernando, Eder, Marcos Antonio, Renato, Tixier,Paulo Gomes, Faria, Paulo Cesar, Paulo Machado (Harison, 51), Ivanildo (Alhandra, 61), Bartosz Slusarski (Valdomiro, 80)
Yellow Cards: Paulo Machado (42), Tixier (55), Fernando (64), Harison (85)

Goals:
[0-1] Ivanildo, 22