28 August 2006, by Marco Pereira

Braga start as they mean to go on

Braga 2-1 Pacos de Ferreira

Braga started the season the way their pre-season ended, with a victory at home at the Municipal Stadium in Braga.

The game did not come to life until the second half, when Pacos player, Elias, was sent off for collecting his second yellow card in the 54th minute.

The first goal of the game came 18 minutes later when Braga substitute, Cesinha, ran down the left wing, after being launched by Joao Pinto, and crossed the ball into the area where he found Ze Carlos. The Braga player’s first shot hit Pacos defender, Luiz Carlos, but he reacted quickly and fired the rebound into the back of the net.

Pacos responded on 80 minutes when substitute Ronny put his team on level terms after coming onto the pitch just seconds earlier. The Brazilian striker took the ball towards the Braga box and launched a rocket shot with his left foot that left Braga goalkeeper, Paulo Santos, with no chance.

Braga were jolted back into action as they went in search of the winning goal, and duly obtained it, with some luck, just before the stroke of full time. The winning goal was scored by Pacos defender, Geraldo, as he headed the ball from a Braga corner into his own net.

Sporting Braga coach, Carlos Carvalhal, was pleased with the team’s victory in their season’s debut match, and especially wanted to thank the fans.

“The most important thing is the victory. We played against a well organised team that made things difficult for us on the field, but I am satisfied with my players’ attitudes and that of the supporters, who pushed us to the win. They were the deciding factor and for this I dedicate this win to them.”

“In the first half we were a bit anxious, but we started the second half more calmly. We showed great character, we passed the ball well and always searched for ways to get to the net, without haste.”

Pacos coach, Jose Mota, was understandably less pleased and felt that the sending off of Elias was unjustified, which led to his team’s loss.

“I felt there was a double standard in various situations during the game with us coming out on the wrong end. Elias was wrongly sent off - I didn’t see any reason to send him off.”

“We started the game really well and dominated for the first 30 minutes. Afterwards Braga, who have a good team, started to control the game, but without any clear opportunities on goal.”

“After it was 1-0, we drew level and I thought that we would not have let a point slip, but with 11 players, the story could have been different.”

Braga:
Paulo Santos, Luis Filipe, Paulo Jorge, Nem, Carlos Fernandes (Cesinha, 68), Joao Pinto, Madrid, Ricardo Chaves (Matues, 85), Maciel, Ze Carlos, Wender (Catenheira, 79)

Pacos de Ferreira:
Pecanha, Manqualde, Geraldo, Luiz Carlos, Fredy, Elias (exp., 54), Paulo Sousa, Dani, Edson (Ronny, 80), Didi, Cristiano (Pedrinha, 60)

Goals:
[1-0] Ze Carlos, 72
[1-1] Ronny, 80
[2-1] Geraldo (o.g.), 90