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| Wednesday, 25 January 2012 22:10 |
Next Generation Series heartbreak for Sporting kidsLions ousted at quarter-final stage by Inter Milan  Ricardo Sa Pinto’s youngsters were knocked out of the NextGen Series after losing 1-0 to Internazionale in Leiria tonight. Ibrahima Mbaye’s second-half header proved the difference between two evenly matched sides.
Sporting had been one of the favourites to win the tournament after having gone through their group unbeaten and having also scored the most team goals in the group phase. One of the main players of that team, Joao Carlos, has since left to join Liverpool and it may well be that his presence was missed in the Sporting team. The first half was an even contest but neither team managed to create a real chance on goal. Filipe Chaby looking the most likely to create an opening with Edgar Ie performing well in the Lions’ defence. There was more action in the second half though beginning with Inter’s goal. Mbaye’s strike came from an Inter corner with goalkeeper Rafael Veloso unable to do anything about the Senegalese defender’s header. Betinho goes closeIuri Medeiros did put the ball in the net later on but the goal was correctly disallowed, as the young winger was offside. Ricardo Sa Pinto clearly wasn’t aware of this as he went face-to-face berating the assistant referee. Inter came close to killing the game off late on but a great chance from a rapid break just grazed the bar. Sporting just could not break down a solid Inter defence who were determined to keep their one goal advantage. It continues to be a bad month so far for Sporting at senior and now at junior level too, they just can’t seem to find a win. At this young age results aren’t everything. Although there will be huge disappointment, there is also no doubt there is great potential in this young Sporting side. by Richard Cole Follow PortuGOAL on Twitter and Facebook
Comments (2)
Tough Luck
2
Thursday, 26 January 2012 13:30
I am a little sad for this great team of youngsters, but I am still very proud of them! They are all very good players and Sporting played the better game, and had more possession and more good attacks. Betinho missed a great opportunity to score, but it happens to everyone once in a while. He is still a very good player and was second top scorer and he has alot of quality! You can just tell by his deft touch on the ball, his great speed with the ball, he makes good passes to link up and he is a great finisher! He is one of my favorite players in the world! Really exciting player! The whole team has tons of talent and they will have a bright future once they continue to work hard and be dedicated! Joao Mario is a really great midfielder too, but it would have helped if Joao Carlos was there still too! Its strange that they let him go during the tournament. It would be crazy if Liverpool now uses him in their team in NextGen as well! Anyway Sporting Forever! I support them wholeheartedly!
bad 2012
1
Thursday, 26 January 2012 10:09
It never rains but it pours for Sporting...
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