6 November 2006, by Marco Pereira

Five-star Nacional thrash Pacos

Nacional 5-1 Pacos de Ferreira

Nacional got back into the wins column in style as they handed a 5-1 thrashing to Pacos de Ferreira in Funchal.

The home side demonstrated that the draw they got last week against Naval was a small hiccup in their winning run, with Rodrigo Silva getting the brace and Chainho, Bruno Amaro and Luciano Fonseca all chipping in with a goal apeice.

The game started at a high tempo as the Liga’s top scorer, Ronny, tried to add to his personal tally in the 2nd minute but he saw his shot stopped by goalkeeper, Diego, and bounce off the post. In the 17th minute Nacional took advantage of their first opportunity when Rodrigo got the first of his two goals by tucking the ball away from an Alonso cross.

Seven minutes after their first goal, Chainho doubled the lead when his thumping header hit the crossbar and bounced on the right side of the goal line.

Pacos came roaring back and Didi almost nicked back a goal as his deflected shot was stopped on the goal line. Just before the break Nacional got a third when Rodrigo Silva netted his fourth goal of the season as he headed in an Alonso corner leaving Pacos goalkeeper, Pecanha, with no chance.

Nacional were extremely efficient in the first half as they seemed to turn each opportunity into a goal.

The visitors got back on track right after the restart when Didi pegged a goal back in the 49th minute as his shot went though the keeper’s legs to make it 3-1.

Just when it seemed that Pacos were going to make a game of it, Nacional restored their three goal advantage when Bruno Amaro received a Ze Vitor ball and made no mistake to make it 4-1. Nacional capped off their night with a fifth goal before the final whistle when Luciano redirected the ball into a gaping Pacos net.

Carlos Brito, Nacional coach:

“What was most important was to win this game after a bad match against Naval. The three points were most important with less or more goals. The second half did not start well as Pacos played better than us and maybe the big difference in the result is not justified.”

Jose Mota, Pacos de Ferreira coach:

“When a team wins 5-1, I just have to congratulate them. The result was possible because we were not concentrating on defence. At the same time, Nacional were very good in finishing, especially from dead ball situations.”

“If we had scored at the beginning of the game, everything could have been different. We didn’t manage to finish two excellent opportunities, and they scored from the only ones they had. In the second half this was repeated. Pacos dominated and missed while Nacional scored. The result is exaggerated.”

Nacional:
Deigo Benaglio, Patacas, Fernando Cardozo, Ricardo Fernandes, Alonso (Luciano, 83), Chainho (Cleber Oliveira, 70), Bruno, Bruno Amaro, Jose Vitor, Rodrigo Silva, Ricardo Pateiro
Yellow Cards: Fernando Cardozo (51), Diego Benaglio (53), Bruno Basto (64)

Pacos de Ferreira:
Pecanha, Manqualde, Luiz Carlos, Gernaldo, Fredy, Paulo Sousa, Pedrinha (Joao Paulo, 60), Didi, Dani, Edson (Renato Queiros, 81), Ronny (Cristiano, 72)
Yellow Cards: Manqualde (23), Pedrinha (29), Ronny (44), Fredy (45)

Goals:
[1-0] Rodrigo Silva, 17
[2-0] Chainho, 24
[3-0] Rodrigo Silva, 42
[3-1] Didi, 49
[4-1] Bruno Amaro, 63
[5-1] Luciano, 87