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| Thursday, 17 November 2011 14:25 |
Young Lions maul LiverpoolNext Generation Series: Sporting 5-1 Liverpool Sporting’s youngsters rounded off their NextGen Series group in emphatic style with a 5-1 win over Liverpool at the Municipal de Mafra to ensure Ricardo Sa Pinto’s side top the group with an impressive 16 points out of a possible 18.
Going into the game both sides knew that Sporting and Liverpool would finish the night in 1st and 2nd place, regardless of the result. Nevertheless, it did not take away from what was a greatly entertaining match with some superb goals. The scoring began after 19 minutes when Betinho laid a freekick for Edgar Ie to hit a shot from distance and his powerful strike left Liverpool goalkeeper Tyrell Belford wrong-footed and unable to save.
Felipe Chaby, who has been responsible for much of the creativity in this Sporting side throughout the tournament so far, grabbed Sporting’s second goal. His low finish after he found himself in acres of space in the box indicative of his tournament so far.
Liverpool pulled one back before the break through Michael Ngoo who, along with Raheem Stirling, had been giving the Sporting full-backs Mica and Ricardo Esgaio a tricky night whenever Liverpool counter attacked. The tall Ngoo produced a composed finish in the Sporting box to put his shot through the legs of goalkeeper Rafael Veloso.
Spectacular Betinho strikeNot long after the restart Betinho made it 3-1 when he superbly converted a Iuri Medeiros cross with a spectacular overhead scissor kick which put Sporting in control and gave Betinho his 5th goal the tournament so far.
Betinho would soon have his 6th NextGen goal in the 61st minute when he converted Ricardo Esgaio’s cross into the corner to ensure victory for Sa Pinto’s youngsters. Sporting finished the scoring in excellent style through Gael Etock, the Cameroonian youngster, formerly of Barcelona, as his long-range half volley found Tyrell Belford off his line for number five for Sporting.
The result means Sporting have scored an impressive 20 goals in their first 6 NextGen games, which makes the Lisbon club one of the favourites going into the next round.
Ricardo Sa Pinto and the rest of the Sporting staff will be impressed with what they have seen from this batch of young talents so far. Betinho – the team’s top scorer, the tricky Bruma, Chaby and Medeiros have all stood out in Sporting’s attacking play thus far. Goalkeeper Rafael Veloso, Edgar Ie, Joao Mario and the recent senior debutant Tiago Ilori having been central figures in providing a defensive base for those attacks.
The big test will come next year in the knockout rounds that the NextGen organisers are hoping to set in Dubai, when Sporting’s juniors could face the likes of the other teams who have impressed so far, such as Barcelona, Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur.
Sporting line-up:
Veloso, Esgaio, Edgar Ie, Pinto, Chaby (Ca, 69’), Eduardo, Teixeira, Medeiros, Coelho (Etock, 83’), Banena (Mane, 71’)
Richard Cole
Comments (14)
Ilori
14
Wednesday, 23 November 2011 06:05
Bob/Canada
lol Ilori is far from a standout, he wouldn't even start if Tobias wasn't injured and Dier wasn't on loan. Joao Mario is by the kid with the most potential on the squad, followed by Iuri Medeiros.
@Mateus
13
Friday, 18 November 2011 17:40
Ivo/Canada
I believe Betinho is Portuguese. I watched an interview with him on youtube and he spoke perfect non-Brazillian Portuguese as far as I could tell, which is great news for Portugal if he develops into a potent stiker.
Great
12
Friday, 18 November 2011 17:37
Ivo/Canada
Just checked out the highlights and these guys are showing a lot of potential. Betinho's first goal is amazing and I really hopes he develops into a quality striker, which is exactly what the NT needs. On the basis of what I just witnessed, it looks like we have a lot to be optimistic about when it comes to the future of the NT.
winger
11
Friday, 18 November 2011 15:57
dan82
The other stand-out winger besides Bruma is Iuri Medeiros. He's actually from the Azores. He's from Horta, the capital of the island Faial. He's potential is huge.
real talent
10
Friday, 18 November 2011 15:39
jon/usa
Sporting has some extremely talented players in their academy and hopefully Paciencia will give them a chance in the next year or two. After watching highlights, Betinho, Madeiros, Chaby, Bruma, and Ilory all look like they can be stars in the future. I am most excited about Betinho. Maybe he can be the excellent striker the seleccao needs!
who are the Sporting wingers
9
Friday, 18 November 2011 13:27
Bryan/SCB
I know Bruma is one and he is great but who is the other winger?
Thanks Richard!
8
Friday, 18 November 2011 05:58
Mateus Florida USA
Great article and video. I hope we can see more articles like this. Medeiros will be another great SCP winger. Is Betinho Portuguese?
Excellent
7
Friday, 18 November 2011 04:36
Ivo/canada
Great to see a batch of youngsters stepping up. Looks like Sporting are rolling on all fronts right now. I will to check out footage of these players. Great coverage as usual.
Betinho is class!
6
Friday, 18 November 2011 01:52
Eddie/Trinidad
I watched the extended highlights of all 6 of Sporting's games in the group stage and I am really impressed with him. He is a good striker! Really quick, great touch, great feet, good passer, and a very good finisher with his feet and his head! Betinho is pure class! Great striker!
medeiros?
5
Thursday, 17 November 2011 23:56
mattdemedeiros
whats this medeiros kids full name and where is he from in portugal?
Betinho
4
Thursday, 17 November 2011 19:09
Talano
It's safe to say, this Betinho kid is a real dark horse. A year ago, no one was talking about him. Don't forget about Ilori, I really like his style of player. Betinho, Chaby and Ilori are the standouts.
Sporting Clube de Portugal - THE BEST!
3
Thursday, 17 November 2011 18:49
Eddie/Trinidad
Sporting Clube de Portugal is simply the best for producing great young players for Portugal! That is why I love and respect Sporting! Sporting is the best thing for the national team! Sporting knows how to properly scout and develop players that can go on to be world class stars! Keep it up Sporting! Forca Portugal!
Thanks for the Coverage
2
Thursday, 17 November 2011 17:01
Bubba Zanetti SCP
This is good news. Felipe Chaby looks like a gem. His play is very good, he needs to keep developing and growing and I hope he continues down this path and eventually makes it to the senior side. Always good to see Sporting developing their youth.
Young-guns
1
Thursday, 17 November 2011 16:57
Tony/Canada
This is what I'm talking about, let's get some young blood on our national team. Our Liga is turning into a South American league, we need to give our young guns a shot. Coelho, Medeiros....COME ON FPF WAKE UP!!!!!!!!
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