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| Sunday, 23 October 2011 07:46 |
Opportunist Cardozo earns off-key Benfica three pointsBeira-Mar 0-1 Benfica Benfica were made to work hard to earn the three points against Beira-Mar in Aveiro last night. The hosts were unable to capitalise on some excellent chances and were undone by an uncharacteristic mistake from goalkeeper Rui Rego, of which Oscar Cardozo was the grateful recipient.
Jorge Jesus brought Ruben Amorim into the starting eleven for the injured Maxi Pereira and there were recalls for Matic, Nolito and Cardozo. The Eagles, still unbeaten this season and having won 9 of their previous 11 matches, were not expected to have difficulty in beating a struggling Beira-Mar.
However, Rui Bento’s side have the best defensive record in the Liga ZON Sagres, and it showed with Benfica creating next to no scoring opportunities in the first half. At the other end of the pitch Beira-Mar forward Artur was waging a personal battle with his namesake in the Benfica goal. The home team’s forward movement was quick and incisive, in contrast to the leaden-footed visitors. Artur twice and Zhang were close to breaking the deadlock, but their efforts flew narrowly off target or were smothered by Benfica’s Brazilian goalkeeper.
Rego giftAs half time approached Cardozo chased a long hopeful punt up field. Rui Rego raced out of goal to reach the ball first but miskicked his clearance which ballooned up into the air, with Cardozo taking a few steps forward and coolly heading into the empty net.
In the second half goalscoring opportunities continued to be at a premium. Douglas failed to hit the target when well placed and the Benfica goalkeeper again came out on top in another Artur-Artur joust, while at the other end Ruben Amorim smashed an effort against the post and Cardozo was crowded out when he seemed certain to score his and his team’s second.
The result was better than the performance from a Benfica point of view, while Beira-Mar can consider themselves unlucky to have got nothing from the match. But good approach play was not matched by their finishing and the fact Rui Bento’s team have failed to score in seven of their eight Liga matches tells its own story.
Jorge Jesus, Benfica coach:“I expected a difficult game because we came off the back of a very intense match, because the Champions Leagues games are very competitive. So I made some changes and rested players who have been overworked. We played against a team who were stronger than I expected. I want to congratulate Rui Bento, as Beira-Mar is a very well organised team with a creative system of play. It was a hard-fought victory.”
Benfica: Artur, Emerson, Garay, Luisao, Witsel, Bruno Cesar (Javi Garcia, 89), Nolito (Gaitan, 60), Matic, Ruben Amorim, Saviola (Aimar, 60), Cardozo Goals: [0-1] Oscar Cardozo, 42 -----
More misery for GuimaraesEarlier in the day Olhanense beat Vitoria Guimaraes thanks to a Mateus penalty at the start of the second half. Vitoria continue their nightmare start to the season and will drop to rock bottom in the table should Rio Ave beat Leiria today. On Friday night Pacos de Ferreira made it two wins on the bounce with a 2-0 triumph over Academica. First-half goals from Melgarejo and William earned the three points for Luis Miguel’s side.
Tom Kundert
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I like Matic and he’s shown some good potential but at the same time he’s has some limited chances due to Javi having great fitness. I think in time he could replace Javi but it’s still too early to tell.
The only criticism i still make on the team so far this season is not the defence as such, but the protection of the central defence from the midfield and full-backs area. Artur, Garay and Luisao have been excellent so far, and particularly Artur has made outstanding stops in most matches we've played, which has been great for his confidence and for the Benfica fans to know we have a dependable keeper now in contrast to last season. But the key point is that we are allowing most opponents to get too many shots on goal, and thankfully Artur has been outstanding.
The reason for this I feel is that our defensive midfield is not giving enough protection to the backline. Javi is a great figher and gives everything to the cause but i still feel he often gets caught out of position when teams counter attack us...Matic looks better in a positional sense but is a lot less experienced than Javi...so this is an issue that must be taken care of soon.
I also think the full-backs, particularly Emerson, give opposing wingers too much space to cross into the box. Emerson has been improving but i still think defensively he has to get a lot better. But overall I'm satisfied, another away win without conceding, and if we can take care of the problems I've mentioned fairly soon, who knows what this team could achieve this season?
FORCA BENFICA