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| Saturday, 17 December 2011 22:42 |
Porto keep pace with BenficaDragons overcome ten-man Maritimo It was far from easy, but Porto kept pace with Benfica at the top of the Liga ZON Sagres with a 2-0 win over Maritimo at the Dragao tonight. Late goals from Cristian Rodriguez and Maritimo’s Briguel sealed the win, but not before 81 minutes of tension for those in attendance. Elsewhere, Gil Vicente held Guimaraes to a 1-1 draw at the Afonso Henriques.
Porto 2-0 MaritimoWith Steven Defour injured, Fernando Belluschi started in midfield for Porto, who were otherwise unchanged. Maritimo were without their entire first choice midfield trio due to suspension, whilst Ruben Ferreira was also absent due to injury. Porto immediately took control of the game’s tempo, particularly in the midfield, where Maritimo sorely missed the aforementioned Olberdam, Rafael Miranda and Roberto Sousa. Belluschi, James and Hulk combined to fluid effect throughout the first half, but despite an abundance of build-up play, the final shot was – for the most part – lacking. Maritimo were pinned back often to their own penalty area, but remained a tough nut to crack. Young Igor Rossi produced a number of fine interceptions, and whilst Pecanha rode his luck at times (a more composed attempt from Belluschi would have seen the Argentine capitalise on the Martimo goalkeeper’s woefully underhit clearance); the Madeira club were able to staunch Porto’s attacking flow – though their efforts were dealt a blow when Roberge received his marching orders for a second bookable offence in quick succession four minutes before the interval. Unsurprisingly given their numerical advantage, Porto began the second half with their foot on the pedal, and barely let up until the final whistle. However, for 36 minutes, the Dragons appeared no closer to a goal than they had through the opening 45. Danilo Dias struck the bar on a rare Maritimo raid forward, as the tension mounted at the Dragao.  Chances came and went for substitutes Kleber, Cristian Rodriguez and Hulk, as Maritimo continued to hold out with dogged determination. But cometh the hour, cometh the…outcast. Cristian Rodriguez, who reportedly fell out with his coach at a recent training session, was in the right place at the right time with nine minutes remaining to give Porto the lead. The Dragons surged forward for what seemed like the umpteenth time, but this time Belluschi was able to slip the ball through to the Uruguayan, who side-footed home calmly. Suddenly the pace of the game, and the effects of the sending off, finally caught up to Maritimo, and this allowed Porto to double their lead. Some slack defending at the near post let Otamendi sneak in and flick a corner on, and the ball flew off the scrambling Briguel and in.  The victory sees Porto draw level with Benfica at the top once again. After thirteen rounds, the two rivals remain inseperable, and although seven games still remain before the next Clássico, March 4th at the Luz already looks like a date for the diary. Goals [1-0] Cristian Rodriguez 81’ [2-0] Briguel (OG) 83’ Porto: Helton; Maicon (Cristian Rodriguez 57’), Rolando, Otamendi, Alvaro Pereira; Fernando, Belluschi, Moutinho; Djalma (Iturbe 75’), Hulk, James Rodriguez (Kleber 46’). Vitoria de Guimaraes 1-1 Gil VicenteIn the early evening game, Guimaraes squandered a positive opening to allow Gil Vicente back into the match, and eventually earn themselves a draw which does little for either team heading into 2012. He might not be best known for his heading prowess, but the veteran Nuno Assis had already struck the post with one before he put Guimaraes ahead after eighteen minutes. A pinpoint cross from Alex did the lion’s share of the work, and Assis steered the ball calmly beyond Adriano from just outside the six-yard box. Having been comfortable for the opening half an hour, Guimaraes inexplicably opted to take their collective foot off the gas, and Gil slowly but surely worked their way back into the game. Their increasingly incisive raids forward paid off with one minute left in the first half, when the unfortunate N’Diaye failed to clear a Richard free kick, diverting Hallisson’s flick beyond his own goalkeeper to level the scores. The second half was a scrappy, fragmented affair, with neither producing much in the way of goalmouth action. Gil, with only one win on the road this season, soon showed themselves to be content with a point, whilst Guimaraes were unable to recapture the flowing play of the first twenty minutes. Ben Shave |
Pinto criticized this referee which was not the first time that made bad calls against Porto (he had no doubt pointing a ghost penalty on Otamendi at the Luz last year). BTW, PdC had the opportunity to praise Proença presence in Euro12 and supports the full professionalization of the class, he is not completely hostile to anything that "beeps".
Vieira simply attacked all the referee class and commission after one game last year (Guimaraes) appealing to their own supporters not to go to away games. Perhaps a matter of "presidencial maturity?"
By the way, Luis Suarez has just been suspended for eight games and fined 48 m euros for racist insults against Evra. What about Javi Garcia on Alan?
Was anyone else impressed by the Maritimo keeper? Along with their defense, I have been really impressed with Maritimo this year, they do a great job with the resources they have. If their keeper continues his form, he will be moving to a bigger club in the near future.
Guimaraes on the other hand, have been poor this season. Its unfortunate, their fan base is great, their stadium is great, and their players have alot of potential. I really think that if they had been managed properly for the past couple of seasons that they could be grinding out good results.
In my opinion the second foul is definately a yellow, but I am not sure about the first. Well it's debatable so it is fine.
What I find funny is how last week when Maritimo recieved a red against benfica some Porto fans were all ready to go with the comments on how Benfica is a cheat, we are theones who bribe, and we can only beat ten man teams, ect. But when it happens to Porto it's different. Why? I don't know if in their minds that if it's Porto it's okay because it's porto but benfica can be allowed a good reffed game and the ref had to be harsh on benfica and if benfica still win some claim that the ref was on our side. This is a football site. It's for debating and stating your opinions but don't say one thing and not say fir the other team. If you say something back it up on why you think that and not just " you guys suck" or "you guys are cheats." Explain why you think that