25 September 2006, by Marco Pereira

Spadacio strike gives Nacional victory in entertaining encounter

Nacional 1-0 Setubal

Nacional said it and they did it. Nacional not only got their first win of the season, but also their first points and first goal with a 1-0 home win over Setubal. It was also a first defeat for Setubal’s new coach, Toni.

The fans were treated to an exciting game at the Engenheiro Rui Alves stadium in Funchal as both teams exchanged opportunities to score all game.

As early as the 3rd minute of the game Setubal almost conceded a goal from Rodrigo Silva’s thunderous shot that rattled the crossbar, with Cassio unable to hit the mark with his follow-up header.

Setubal’s response did not come until a few minutes later when Amuneke saw his shot just go past Diego’s post in the 12th minute. Amuneke was at it again in the 29th minute when his header from a Janicio cross just sailed wide of the net again.

It appeared that Setubal’s offence was coming from one source with Amuneke playing like a man possessed. A third attempt by the Nigerian whistled past the target by inches in the 31st minute. Amuneke was by far the best player on the pitch at this point.

Sensing a change was necessary, Nacional coach Carlos Brito made two substitutions at the break as Luciano and Rodrigo Silva made way for Chilikov and Adriano, respectively.

The changes proved positive as Nacional started the second half as they did the first with a great opportunity to open the scoring in the 50th minute. Cassio’s header towards the Setubal goal missed by the smallest of margins.

The moment that Nacional and their supporters have been waiting for all season finally came in the 58th minute as Juliano let fly with a rocket-shot from outside the box, which Joao Paulo could not hold onto making it 1-0 to the home side.

Now that Nacional had finally had a taste of scoring, they went after their second and in the 68th minute an Adriano header almost found the net and Cassio also gave Setubal something to think about when he saw his third header of the game just miss four minutes later.

Everyone from Nacional was getting in on the action as defender Avalos sent a shot that flew just off target. It took some time for Setubal to react to the onslaught, but Varela came close to an equaliser with a dangerous looking shot in the 79th minute.

Setubal were left to rue the missed opportunities in the first half as it was all Nacional in the second half. A well deserved victory for the team from Choupana.

Nacional coach, Carlos Brito, was enthusiastic with the win. He wanted to thank the club’s supporters and the players for the victory: “I tried to coax my team into being calm, to release themselves from any pressures and play the way they know how. This is what happened.”

“We managed to create some chances and scored from one of them. We were much stronger in the second half.”

Setubal’s coach Toni was satisfied with his team’s performance despite the loss, feeling that they played well in the first half, but took their foot off the gas in the second and were made to pay for it.

“In the first half my team managed to control the game and our opponents. We took advantage of Nacional’s nervousness. But we didn’t take our chances and we were punished for our apathy in the second half.”

Nacional will now prepare for their second-leg UEFA Cup match against Rapid Bucharest and have high hopes of overturning a 1-0 deficit. Meanwhile, Setubal prepare for their next Liga match against Pacos de Ferreira at home.

Nacional:
Diego Benaglio, Patacas, Avalos, Ricardo Fernandes, Alonso, Chainho, Bruno Amaro, Luciano (Chilikov, 46), Rodrigo Silva (Adriano, 46), Juliano Spadacio, Cassio (Jose Vitor, 85)
Yellow Cards: Avalos (42), Cassio (63), Alonso (64), Patacas (67)

Setubal:
Joao Paulo, Janicio (Fonseca, 66), Auri, Hugo, Nandinho, Sandro, Binho, Ademar (Mario Carlos, 55), Julien (Cesar La Paglia, 67), Amuneke, Varela
Yellow Cards: Binho (25), Sandro (54), Cesar La Paglia (89)

Goals:
[1-0] Juliano Spadacio, 58