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| Wednesday, 01 December 2010 22:40 |
Polga guarantees top spot for SportingSporting 1-0 Lille Anderson Polga scored the only goal of Sporting’s Europa League clash against Lille to guarantee qualification for the next round of the competition with one game to spare.
The victory – Sporting’s fourth in five Group C games – also ensures the Lions finish top of their section and will be seeded in the draw for the knockout phase.
In a largely forgettable game Polga emerged as an unlikely goal threat for the home side. The Brazilian central defender has not netted a single goal for Sporting in domestic competition in his eight years at the Alvalade, but his goal on 28 minutes tonight was his fourth in Europe for the Lions.
And it could have been a brace. In the 13th minute Lille goalkeeper Landreau completely mistimed his interception at a corner, leaving Polga a clear header which he crashed against the underside the crossbar. The defender made no mistake with his next chance, hitting a low left-footed shot into the net, although the referee missed a clear Postiga handball in the build-up.
Yannick Djalo should have doubled Sporting’s lead ten minutes before the break. The forward raced clean through on goal, but failed to beat Landreau.
The second half saw a marked deterioration in the quality of the match, with Sporting content to sit on their lead. Lille almost made the Lisbon team pay in the 82nd minute when only the post and a goal-line save by Rui Patricio denied the French outfit an equaliser.
From the last kick of the game Vukcevic smashed a free-kick against the bar, but it did not matter as Sporting continue a highly positive European season.
Goals:
[1-0] Polga, 27
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Cheers
Congrats, and may your european success continue.