24 September 2007, by Macro Pereira

Braga and Benfica play out stalemate

Sporting Braga 0-0 Benfica

Sporting Braga and Benfica drew 0-0 in the highly anticipated match of the weekend, but very few chances and no goals were the result of a lukewarm and disappointing display of football.

Both teams fall further behind Liga leaders, FC Porto, who won their match against Pacos de Ferreira.

The first good opportunity of the match came in the 12th minute as Benfica broke on the counter attack with Cristian Rodriguez forcing Dani Mallo into a good stop. The rebound was picked up by Rui Costa, who saw his effort deflected for a corner kick.

The visitors were content to allow their hosts have the majority of ball possession, as Benfica looked to surprise Braga on the counter attack. Despite having the ball for the majority of the first half, the home side found it difficult to break down Benfica’s stingy defence.

Benfica’s offensive catalyst this season, Rui Costa, tried to fool the Braga keeper in the 36th minute with an arching effort that did not miss the net by much.

Brilliant Quim save

But just before the interval Quim produced a stunning save to rob Linz of a sure goal. The Austrian striker thought he had done enough to put his team up by a goal, as he sent a header towards the inside of the far post, but Quim somehow reached the ball and swatted it away for a corner kick.

Saves such as that will only add weight to the argument that the keeper should be Portugal’s new number one.

The second half was much the same, but the roles reversed as Benfica took over the ball possession and Braga were content to play on the counter attack. A couple of decent late chances saw Quim make another good save in the 80th minute and two minutes later, Edcarlos got onto the end of a Rui Costa pass but his strike missed by inches.

A fair result for what had transpired throughout the 90 minutes, but both teams would have wanted more, especially coming off defeats in Europe in midweek.

After Carlsberg Cup matches in midweek, both teams play tough derby matches next weekend. Braga pay a visit to Vitoria Guimaraes and Benfica welcome Sporting to the Estadio da Luz in the Lisbon derby.

Sporting Braga:
Dani Mallo, Joao Pereira, Frechaut, Paulo Jorge, Cesar Peixoto, Madrid, Vandinho, Castanheira (Wender, 69), Jorginho, Roland Linz, Ze Manel (Lenny, 69)
Yellow Cards: Castanheira (60), Wender (89)

Benfica:
Quim, Luis Filipe, Edcarlos, Katsouranis, Leo, Gilles, Rui Costa (Romeu Ribeiro, 86), Maxi Pereira, Di Maria (Cardozo, 65), Cristian Rodriguez, Nuno Gomes (Nuno Assis, 65)
Yellow Cards: Gilles (41), Cristian Rodriguez (64)