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Sunday, 06 November 2011 22:22 |
Liga round-up: Sporting close gap
Rio Ave off the bottom
 A frantic day of action in the Liga saw Sporting close the gap at the top of the table, whilst there were also vital wins for Beira-Mar and Rio Ave, and a goalless draw at the Bonfim.
Sporting 3-1 Leiria
Sporting moved to within one point of Porto and Benfica at the top of the table, sealing a seventh consecutive Liga win at the Alvalade against a spirited Uniao de Leiria. Faced with an injury crisis, Domingos handed a Liga debut to young centre back Tiago Ilori, and Bruno Pereirinha slotted into the midfield with Fito Rinaudo sidelined for the next three months.
Sporting got off to the perfect start, with a gorgeous strike from Matias Fernandez. The Chilean created space for himself with a superb control and turn, before rifling a strike under the legs of Gottardi.
At this point, it seemed as if a seventh consecutive win was inevitable, but a mistake from young Ilori handed Leiria a way back into the match. The London-born eighteen year-old misjudged the flight of a lofted ball, and Djaniny took full advantage, racing through to beat Patricio with impressive aplomb.
 Leiria have shown signs of improvement since Manuel Cajuda arrived for his third spell in charge, and were – a couple of near misses from the effervescent Fernandez apart – looking good value for their share of the points at half time. However, Sporting re-established their lead soon after the restart, with Fernandez grabbing his second of the game from close range, after Evaldo’s cut back from the byline. Leiria’s marking was somewhat slack, and the number fourteen took full advantage.
Despite falling behind once more, Manuel Cajuda’s men continued to harry their opponents right up until the final whistle. Jo, Djaniny and Maykon all might have found the net, as Sporting’s makeshift new-look back line strained under the pressure.
However, the Lions saw out the storm, and on the cusp of full time, added a third. Ivo Pinto handled a ball in inside the six-yard box, and Manuel Mota did not hesitate in pointing to the spot and brandishing a red card. Ricky Van Wolfswinkel slotted home, and Sporting head into the international just a single point behind Porto and Benfica.
Goals
[1-0] Matias Fernandez 8’
[1-1] Djaniny 21’
[2-1] Matias Fernandez 50’
[3-1] Van Wolfswinkel 90’
Sporting: Rui Patricio; Joao Pereira, Carrico, Ilori, Evaldo; Schaars, Elias, Pereirinha (Carrillo 46’); Capel (Andre Santos 63’), Van Wolfswinkel, Matias Fernandez (Arias 63’).
Beira-Mar 2-1 Feirense
Beira-Mar condemned Aveiro rivals Feirense to a third straight loss at the Estadio Municipal de Aveiro. Goals from Nildo and Artur gave Rui Bento’s men a commanding lead at the interval, and although Fonseca netted a late consolation for Feirense, it was not enough to prevent the newly promoted side from sliding down to the foot of the table. Having scored, Fonseca was then dismissed in the dying moments.
Rio Ave 2-1 Nacional
 Rio Ave clambered out of the relegation zone with a priceless 2-1 victory at home to Nacional. Pedro Caixinha looked to be headed for a successful start to life as coach of the Madeira club when Claudemir converted a thirteenth-minute penalty (Rio Ave’s Eder was sent off as a result of his foul on Mateus); but a late comeback, initiated by Joao Tomas and finished off by Porto loanee Christian Atsu, secured the home side all three points. Rio Ave are now one point clear of Pacos and Feirense, who make up the bottom two after ten rounds.
Setubal 0-0 Gil Vicente
Vitoria de Setubal ended a two-match losing streak, but made it three Liga outings without a goal in an uneventful 0-0 draw with Gil Vicente at the Bonfim. A poor encounter between two mid-table sides was watched by 2626 spectators, who whistled both sets of players off at the end. Setubal and Gil remain in 9th and 8th places, both on eleven points.
Ben Shave
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Great job by Sporting. I hate to say it, but they just might be up to the task this season. Getting 34,214 for a game vs Leiria is also great.
The true Portuguese "Classico" is going to be something special.
Leiria is making their descent to relegation, to be never heard from again. Ok, maybe that was a bit harsh.
Beira Mar is hanging in there. After this one they've only scored 6 goals, but have only let in 6. Stingy defense. We'll see if it holds up.
Rio Ave is out of the bottom and looking, huh huh, ok.
I will be pulling for Gil Vicente all season.
On a side note, Braga only drew 18,688 to its game vs Benfica. Why so little? Could it be that people were afraid of unruly atmosphere? Regardless, they should have given Benfica more tickets and cashed in.
If Sporting manage to pull off their first league championship in a decade I expect Van Wolf and possibly Capel and some others to leave for “greener” pastures, as per usual. This might happen even if they don’t win the championship. But I’m actually looking forward to the possibility of Sporting being a position similar to Porto where they receive a boatload of cash for proven players. I don’t think this would be a bad thing. This is all premature speculation but it’s not looking too farfetched for once and I’m glad that Sporting is back in the hunt. Porto has basically relied on the “acquire a foreigner, develop him and then reap the rewards,” formula for years now and given the fact that we don’t have any oil barons or Russian oligarchs to rely on for acquisitions in Portugal, this is probably the best strategy for Portuguese teams to employ.
Here’s hoping the Portuguese squads continue to build on their successes...but with a little more success for Sporting than the others ;)