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Late Purovic goal saves Sporting from Leixoes defeat

Leixoes 1-1 Sporting

Despite a much improved performance Sporting let two more points slip with a 1-1 draw at Leixoes last night.

An early own goal from Abel put the hosts into the lead, and a series of outstanding saves from home goalkeeper Beto kept the Lions at bay until the 87th minutes when Purovic sent a thundering header into the net to leave the match all square.

Portugal U20 goalkeeper Rui Patricio made his debut for Sporting, with Paulo Bento changing his tactics by leaving Liedson as the lone striker to bolster the midfield.

The new system gave Sporting a much more solid base, and the Lions took command of the match from the start, only to be surprised by a rapid counter-attack. Patricio could only parry a Jorge Goncalves cross into the danger area, and the ball ricocheted off Abel and trickled into the net to the delight of the vociferous home crowd.

The visitors took some time to recover from the set-back, but from the half-hour mark Sporting completely dominated the match against a team that were content to tenaciously defend their lead.

Brilliant Beto

The second half saw chance after chance go begging for Sporting, with Gladstone and Izmailov forcing Beto into magnificent reaction saves, and Liedson, Veloso and Pereirinha all failing to hit the back of the net when well placed.

Leixoes almost snatched a second in the 77th minute when Ezequias embarked on an exhilarating run from his own half that took him past three defenders before shooting over the bar.

Just when it seemed Sporting would fall to a second successive defeat Abel produced a pinpoint cross that the giant Purovic connected with perfectly to crash a header past Beto to give Sporting a share of the points.

Despite the improved display, a record of three draws, two defeats and just one victory in six Bwin Liga away matches has seriously compromised Sporting’s title aspirations.

The Lions now turn their attention to the Champions League with a daunting trip to Manchester United on Tuesday.

Leixoes:
Beto, Filipe Oliveira, Nuno Silva, Elvis, Ezequias, Jorge Duarte (Nwoko, 63), Bruno China, Jorge Goncalves, Pedro Cervantes (Vieirinha, 70), Hugo Morais, Roberto (Vinicius, 82)
Yellow Cards: Nuno Silva (78), Vieirinha (83)

Sporting:
Rui Patricio, Abel, Gladstone, Polga, Ronny (Purovic, 27), Miguel Veloso, Joao Moutinho, Izmailov, Romagnoli (Farnerud, 80), Vukcevic (Pereirinha, 65), Liedson
Yellow Cards: Polga (24), Liedson (45), Farnerud (94)

Goals:
[1-0] Abel, 14 (o.g.)
[1-1] Purovic, 87