Sporting’s relentless march towards the title shows no sign of slowing down. The Lions made it 14 wins and one draw from their last 15 Liga matches by swatting aside Gil Vicente with consummate ease in Barcelos tonight.
Two goals from Francisco Trincão, an Ousmane Diomande header and an own goal from Gil goalkeeper Andrew put the visitors 4-0 up at half time.
Gil improved after the break and no further goals were scored, as Sporting go seven points clear at the top of the table ahead of Benfica’s match at home versus Moreirense on Sunday.
Andrew plays despite personal loss
Gil Vicente’s brilliant young Brazilian goalkeeper Andrew Ventura chose to play the game despite learning of his mother’s passing earlier in the day.
Once again Sporting coach Rúben Amorim shuffled his pack, bringing in Ricardo Esgaio, Ousmane Diomande, Eduardo Quaresma and Daniel Bragança in place of the injured Matheus Reis, the suspended Morten Hjulmand and the rested Sebastián Coates and Jeremiah St. Juste.
Any hopes a struggling Gil (one victory and six defeats in their last 10 matches), who sacked their coach Vítor Campelos last week, may have harboured of stopping a super motivated Sporting were as good as over after just ten minutes as the Primeira Liga leaders raced into a two-goal lead.
In the 7th minute Hidemassa Morita struck a fine 20-yard shot low onto the post with Andrew beaten, but Gil failed to clear the ball, Trincão latching onto it in the box, dribbling past a couple of defenders and firing low into the net off the very same post.
Before Gil had a chance to regroup, they found themselves two goals down. A well-worked short corner routine saw Pedro Gonçalves cross perfectly for Diomande at the second post to head in from six yards out.
Trincão on fire
Sporting were hungry for more, the effervescent Trincão continuing his fine form by getting into promising shooting positions on a regular basis. On 19 minutes he shot over and soon afterwards he should have scored his second of the night when he failed to connect with just Andrew to beat after a delightful Morita chipped pass.
In between the equally lively Pote drew a sharp save out of Andrew. A third goal was coming and duly arrived on the half-hour mark. Daniel Bragança picked the pocket of Mory Gbane high up the pitch, advanced and slipped a short diagonal pass into the path of Trincão who easily beat Andrew.
Still Sporting poured forward against a dispirited and disorganised Gil, Pote picking out Viktor Gyökeres with a tremendous left-footed cross, the Swedish striker smashing his header against the bar with the ball ending up in the net after deflecting off the unfortunate Andrew’s back.
A wild effort high and wide by Pedro Tiba just before the break, the home team’s only shot in the first half, summed up a sorry 45 minutes from the hosts.
Gil turn up
Gil made two substitutions at the break, Félix Correia and Kanya Fujimoto coming on for Martim Neto and Pedro Tiba, and the Galos de Barcelos at last began to show more fight, imprinting levels of aggression that had been patently missing in the first half.
With Sporting content to control the game rather than push for more goals, with the exception of the always insatiable Gyökeres, the match wound down to a natural conclusion.
It was Gil Vicente who were closest to scoring in the second half, Depú drawing a sharp save out of Israel with a header and the same player missing badly from point-blank range in the final minute.
Nonetheless, the ecstatic Sporting fans, sensing a second championship title in four seasons coming their way, did not wane in their enthusiasm with a festive atmosphere enveloping the stands packed with supporters clad in green and white.
Squad rotation
Amorim used the comfortable lead to give some of his lesser used players a run-out, Iván Fresneda and Koba Koindredi getting minutes and Marcus Edwards also back on the pitch after spending most of his time on the bench in recent weeks owing to the excellent form of Trincão and Paulinho.
The young coach continues to show brilliant man-management skills and it was little wonder that Sporting fans unfurled a large banner urging him to stay at the club and sung his name incessantly amidst growing rumours that he is wanted by Liverpool.
Big banner unfurled by Sporting fans with a simple message: #StayAmorim #StayAmorim #StayAmorim pic.twitter.com/mdZp4x6Cyf
— Tom Kundert (@PortuGoal1) April 12, 2024
For now, Amorim continues to deflect questions about his future. “I’ll be here for the game against Famalicão (on Tuesday), then the next one, then the next one and so on,” was his reply when asked about the speculation in the post-match press conference. “We believe we can win the title but there’s still a lot to do.”
by Tom Kundert
Goals:
[0-1] Francisco Trincão, 8’
[0-2] Ousmane Diomande, 10’
[0-3] Francisco Trincão, 30’
[0-4] Andrew (own goal), 38’
