29 September 2006, by Marco Pereira

Setubal restore some pride

Heerenveen 0-0 Setubal (Agg. 3-0)

Setubal had a massive mountain to climb as they travelled to the Abe Lenstra Stadium in Heerenveen to try and overcome a 3-0 deficit in their UEFA Cup second-leg qualification match.

The damage had been done two weeks ago as the Dutch team hammered the Portuguese side at Alvalade. Setubal’s aim was to erase the poor image they had left from the first-leg, which led to the sacking of coach Helio Sousa.

The first half produced little in the way of opportunities. Heerenveen were calm and content to let Setubal come at them and hit the Portuguese team on the counter attack.

The first sign of danger for the Heerenveen net was in the 27th minute when defender. Janicio let fly with a rocket shot from distance that did not miss the target by far.

Heerenveen’s Brazilian striker, Afonso Alves, the scourge of Setubal in the first leg, was up to his old tricks as he lurked around the box looking for a goal, but this time round Setubal did not allow him any clear chances to score.

The second half proved even less eventful than the first with no clear chances to report for either side. All shots were either from distance, blocked or sailed wide of the net.

It was good enough for Heerenveen as they move onto the group phase of the competition. An improving Setubal will perhaps wonder what could have been if Antonio Conceicao had been at the helm from the start of the season.

Setubal’s new coach was pleased with his team’s display and felt that they had shed the bad impression they had created for themselves in the first-leg.

“We proved that we have quality and managed to make this game a more equal affair. Setubal demonstrated that they could have contested the tie in another manner.”

PortuGOAL Man of the Match:
Joao Paulo - The Setubal goalkeeper was busy all night cutting out passes and crosses. His safe handling and good anticipation kept Heerenveen’s threat down to a minimum.

Heerenveen:
Vanderbusche, Gianni Zuiverloon (Michel Breuer, 79), Dingsdag, Peter Hansson, Jeroen Drost, Paul Bosvelt (Kissi, 82), Prager, Pranjic (Bradley, 74), Lasse Nilsson, Friend, Afonso Alves
Yellow Cards: Dingsdag (72)

Setubal:
Joao Paulo, Janicio, Auri, Hugo, Nandinho (Ademar, 46), Sandro, Binho, Bruno Ribeiro, Julien (Marcelo Labarthe, 38), Amuneke, Lourenco (Varela, 76)