Sporting lose victory in the 2nd half

Sporting failed to hold a two-goal lead in the first part accomplished yielding a draw (2-2) in Rio Ave. Matias Fernandez and Moutinho marked the goals for the lions.

The interim coach Leonel Pontes just made a change in the last eleven “Paulo Bento, promoting ownership of Postiga in place of Saleiro with the” 23 sweater “to conduct the first shot of the match early in the opening minutes which was defended by Carlos. Rio Ave went well into the game always looking for the speed of Bruno Gama in the right wing, but without having any shot on goal from Rui Patrício. Sporting with the answer on 17 minutes when Matias first and Postiga twice were close to the deadlock. Four minutes later, Matias Fernandez retrieve a ball outside the area and after dribbling two opponents and low past with no way for Carlos, the third league game in a row to score.

Advantage in the marker, the team lowered the pace of the game with Miguel Veloso (38 m) and after long-circulating ball in midfield to shoot first and very near the right post of the goal from Carlos. Rio Ave just reacted with a free-kick over Vitor Gomes Beacon Rui Patrício in the minutes before João Moutinho goal materialize in the penalty committed needlessly by Silvio.

After the break, Angulo came in place of Vukcevic and Rio Ave were determined to reduce the disadvantage, getting it by John Thomas (57 m) after left-wing cross from Sydney, who fled to the marking of Pedro Silva. Three minutes later, João Tomás ’struck twice’ in a first shot after a cross from Bruno Gama on the right. The ‘blackout’ of Sporting in the game had the epilogue to the expulsion of Daniel Carriço (64 m), leaving the team outnumbered and matched the bullet, responding only to 73 minutes – and already Polga in place of Postiga - when the newly Caicedo-entered as Liedson, did not score in their shots already in the small area.

By the end, Sporting pushed for another goal, but the pace dropped, with the pair of inputs of the medical staff of the house, the various failures marked the attack sportinguista and natural accumulation of fatigue to prevent a return to the status of winner.

Statstics:
08-11-2009 | 10th round of the Liga Sagras
Rio Ave x Sporting (2-2) | Estádio do Rio Ave Futebol Clube
Rio Ave: Carlos, Zé Gomes (Adriano, 80 m), Gaspar, Fábio Faria, Sílvio; Wires, Ricardo Chaves (Tarantino, 45 m), Vítor Gomes, Sidney (Chidi, 73 m) and Bruno Gama; João Tomás.
Coach: Carlos Brito.
Goals: João Tomás (57 and 60 m).

Sporting: Rui Patrício, Pedro Silva, Daniel Carriço, Tonel and André Marques (Caicedo, 61 m); Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, Simon Vukcevic (Angel Angulo, 45 m) and Matias Fernandez; Liedson and Hélder Postiga (Polga, 67 m).
Coach: Leonel Pontes.

Discipline: Yellow cards to Daniel Carriço (44 e 64 m) and André Marques (49 m).
Red card to Daniel Carriço (64 m).

19 facing Rio Ave without Paulo Bento

After the departure of Paulo Bento spending 4 years with Sporting winning the Portuguese Cup, Portuguese Supercup and the Portuguese League Cup. Leonel Pontes took the task. The new coach released in the early afternoon of Saturday the list of 19 invited to the meeting with Rio Ave, which takes place on Sunday at 20.15. Renato Neto is the surprise in the list.

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio, and Tiago;
Defenders: Pedro Silva, Daniel Carriço, Polga, Tonel, Grimi and André Marques;
Midfielders: Adrien, Renato Neto, Miguel Veloso, Angulo, Moutinho, Vukcevic and Matias Fernandez;
Forwards: Caicedo, Saleiro, Postiga and Liedson.

A draw leaves Sporting with one point to qualify

Sporting has drawn 1-1 to Ventspils. The result leaves Sporting on the brink of qualification for the next stage of the Europa League.

Vukcevic and Pedro Silva returned to the starting 12 with Carlos Saleiro also making his first bow in Europe. The young striker celebrated in a fitting fashion: scoring Sporting’s only goal of the clash after 21 minutes.

Alvalade was far from capacity for the fixture, with Sporting’s passage to the next round virtually secured. The game got off on the wrong foot for the Lions from Lisbon, with Zamperini opening the night’s scoring with a header, on 14 minutes, following a slip-up by André Marques.

However, the goal injected some welcome pace into the step of Sporting, with Liedson, two minutes later, battling his way into the opposition area. However, it was Carlos Saleiro, after 21 minutes, who levels the scoring. The young striker was the first to react to the second ball following a Vukcevic shot, putting a diving header out of reach of the Ventspils keeper.

With Sporting pushing higher up the pitch, the home outfit fired off a total of 12 shots in the whole of the second half. In search of a goal, Paulo Bento brought in Angulo for the yellow carded André Marques, with the Spanish international finding a place on the right wing.

Ventspils, looking happy to play out the draw relied mainly on the counter attack. Patrício did well on 67 minutes to deny a second goal following an effort from Tigirlas.

Sporting continued the pressure until the final whistle. However, despite finishing the game with 21 shots and 15 corners, Sporting was left to take away just one point from the game. The result leaves Sporting on the top with 10 points and top of the group.

Estádio José Alvalade – Sporting x Ventspils (1-1)

SPORTING - Rui Patrício; Pedro Silva, Carriço (Grimi, 52), Tonel, André Marques, Angulo; Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, Vukcevic (Hélder Postiga, 73) and Matías Fernandez; Saleiro and Liedson.

VENTSPILS – Kolinko; Mihadjuks, Zamperini, Ndeki and Hodel; Kosmacovs and Chirkin; Tigirlas, Laizans and Zigajevs (João Martins, 49); Gauracs (Butriks, 70).

Goals: Saleiro (21); Zamperini (15).

Yellow cards to André Marques (14), Matías Fernandez (59), Pedro Silva (80);  Zigajevs (45).

Sporting facing Ventspils on Thursday

Sporting had put the disappointing results in the Liga Sagres behind their backs and they’re ready for the match in the Europa League on Wednesday afternoon, with Sporting set to take on Ventspils on Thursday the 5th of November, at 6:00pm, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Full squad list
Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício and Tiago;
Defenders: Pedro Silva, Abel, Daniel Carriço, Tonel, Grimi and André Marques;
Midfielders: Adrien, Miguel Veloso, Angulo, Moutinho, Vukcevic and Matias Fernandez;
Forwards: Caicedo, Saleiro, Postiga and Liedson.

Video of Postiga’s shot

Postiga vs Maritimo

Good shot from Postiga that slightly went outside. An tempt from the player in the last 15 minutes of Sporting game against Marítimo that could have flipped the scale.

- To watch all the match highlights videos click Here

Sporting lose another two points

Sporting has drawn with Marítimo in Lisbon losing another two crucial
Liga Sagres points. The lions efforts in the game will perhaps leave Alvalade feeling a little hard  with the result once again proving that football is not played on an even field.

Paulo Bento made some changes with André Marques, Pereirinha and Hélder Postiga all starting the game in place of Grimi, Caicedo and Vukcevic.

In a rainy weather, Sporting set a good pace at the start of the game and began to look for an early goal. A well-shaped free kick from Moutinho could have put the hosts ahead early on but for a last ditch clearance by the visitors. Marítimo however were keen to prove that they hadn’t come to Lisbon to just park the bus and began to push forward thanks to a few efforts from Marcinho and Baba. Sporting however proved to be the more aggressive of the two sides early on and the home side’s back line held firm. With the chances on goal beginning to be few and far between, Sporting held the ball in the centre of the park as Marítimo utilised the wings in the shape of counter-attacking play from Manú and Djalma.

As the second half got underway, Postiga was hacked down on what the referee indicated to be the edge of the visitor’s 18-yard box. Matias Fernandez stepped up to whip in the free kick, but Carriço was unable to keep his header down. With Sporting piling forward, Alvalade exploded as Fernandez burst into the Marítimo area on 53 minutes and crashed a sublime effort into the back of the net. However, the visitors from Madeira kept their heads up and on 61 minutes Manú drove in an unlikely looking effort from the middle of the field to level the scores at 1 each. The result pushed Paulo Bento into action; taking off Abel and Pereirinha for Pedro Silva and Caicedo. As the minutes tickets away, Carriço, Postiga and Caicedo could all have restored the lead; with the Ecuadorian putting an effort against the post in the dying stages. With Sporting playing with their hearts on their sleeves, the final whistle sounded and another two points were lost.

Truly, undeserved results. The players deserves around of applause for this aggressive performance and efforts. The crowd witnessed a very exiting and maybe the most tense game so far. Still Sporting needs to get back in the league race among the 3 headed.

Liga Sagres – 9th Round

Estádio José Alvalade – November 1st, 2009

Sporting x Marítimo (1-1)

SPORTING: Rui Patrício; Abel (Pedro Silva, 63 m), Tonel, Carriço, André Marques (Saleiro, 81 m), Miguel Veloso, Pereirinha (Caicedo, 63 m), Moutinho, Matias Fernandez; Liedson and Postiga.
Coach: Paulo Bento.
Unused substitutes: Tiago, Adrien, Angulo and Grimi.

MARÍTIMO: Peçanha; Paulo Jorge, João Guilherme, Fernando, Alonso, Roberto Sousa, Bruno; Manú (Briguel, 77 m), Marcinho (Pitbull, 90 m), Djalma (Taka, 71 m) and Baba.
Coach: Mitchell Van der Gagg.
Unused substitutes: Marcelo, Miguel Ângelo, Olberdam and Kléber.

Discipline: Yellow cards, Hélder Postiga (12 m), Miguel Veloso (23 m), Fernando (47 m), Roberto Sousa (50 m), Daniel Carriço (58 m), Pedro Silva (82 m) and Peçanha (90+4 m).
Goals: Matias Fernandez (53 m) and Manú (61 m).

List of players taking on Marítimo

Paulo Bento has chosen 20 players for the game against Marítimo in the 9th round of the championship. The meeting is scheduled for November 1, at 20.15 at the José Alvalade Stadium.

Here is the list of the squad:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício, Tiago and Ricardo Batista.
Defense: Daniel Carriço, Pedro Silva, Tonel, Grimi, André Marques and Abel.
Midfielders: Adrien Silva, Vukcevic, Matias Fernandez, Angulo, Miguel Veloso, Pereirinha and João Moutinho.
Attack: Carlos Saleiro, Caicedo, Hélder Postiga and Liedson.

Sporting Rollercoaster

Everyone express their feelings with their own way, but when it comes to the artist Nelson Santos only the cartoon would speak for it’s self.

Drawing that shows Sporting team including: Bettencourt, Paulo Bento, Moutinho, Yannick, Liedson, Matias Fernandes, Vukcevic, Caicedo and Postiga riding a rollercoaster that describes the current situation in Sporting and the rollercoaster going down almost hitting the ground.

A cartoon that may really describes what most of Sporting fans are feeling about Sporting results specially in the Liga Sagres.

The cartoon is published in Revista Futebolista magazine, November 2009 and it’s already for sale  for €2.20

Please visit the artist site Here

Draw in Guimarães made the fans unhappy

After a tough match, Sporting almost achieved 3 points but Guimarães killed the hopes by equalizing in added time and made Sporting walk out with one point.

Sporting traveled to the northern Portuguese city of Guimarães for matchday 8 of Liga Sagres and the Lions got off to a shaky start as the home team build on the early pressure. With Paulo Bento’s charges taking a while to shake off the pressure, Sporting’s first real threat to could have opend the scoring but only the referee Olegário Benquerença ruled Caicedo’s strike out with an offside decision. Guimarães were having an easier time in the attack than the visitors, with Rui Patrício called into two early saves following a free kick from Moreno and a strike from João Alves.

In the second half , Paulo Bento rolled the substitution dice: taking Grimi off in place of Pereirinha, with Miguel Veloso dropping into the left-back position. Sporting got off to a much better start in the second half; passing the ball around and picking holes in Guimarães defence. Caicedo again threatened to open the night’s scoring after 58 minutes, with a decent effort from the edge of the box that came close. With the result still low Bento again tried to change things up, this time taking off Caicedo for Hélder Postiga. With time ticking away, Liedson was next to threaten the night’s status on 76 minutes. He latched onto a well-placed Pereirinha cross to head goalwards but Nilson  saved it.

Searching for a goal that could well take away full points, Sporting kept up the pressure. The breakthrough finally came on 82 minutes as Matías Fernandez guided a Liedson pass into an empty net. Guimarães protested fiercely for offside as the referee awarded the goal to the Chilean, who did appear to be behind the ball as it was passed. With both team’s fighting fiercely in the dying stages, Rui Miguel found space on the edge of the Sporting 18-yard box to lash a half volley into the bottom corner and past the outstretched Rui Patrício. After looking to have come away with an important 3 points, Sporting walked out with one point in hand and held the 4th place in the league with 12 points in 8 games. Sporting fans didn’t seem so happy. Sporting Lisbon retuned at José Alvalade Stadium at 2:47 in the morning where about two dozen supporters attended showing their displeasure with Sporting’s match. Cries of anger and discontent have been released for most of the players and coaching staff.

Match Statistics:

Guimarães  VS Sporting (1-1)

Estádio D. Afonso Henriques
27th of October 2009

Guimarães: Nilson, Alex, Moreno, Gustavo Lazzaretti, Andrezinho (Jorge Gonçalves, 86 m), Flávio Meireles, Desmarets, João Alves (Rui Miguel, 86 m), Targino (Roberto, 69 m), Nuno Assis and Douglas.
Coach: Paulo Sérgio.
Unused substitutes: Serginho, Custódio, Marquinho and Milhazes.
Discipline: Yellow card, Alex (65 m), Nilson (82 m) and Flávio (84 m).
Goal: Rui Miguel (90 m)

Sporting: Rui Patrício, Abel, Tonel, Carriço, Grimi (Pereirinha, 45 m), Miguel Veloso, Moutinho, Vukcevic (Saleiro, 78 m), Matías Fernandes, Caicedo (Hélder Postiga, 58 m) and Liedson.
Coach: Paulo Bento.
Unused substitutes: Tiago, Pedro Silva, Adrien Silva and Angulo.
Discipline: Yellow card, Grimi (19 m), Abel (40 m), Moutinho (73 m), Tonel (84 m) and Saleiro (89 m).
Goal: Matías Fernandez (82 m)

Sporting are ready to take on Guimarães

Paulo Bento announced this early afternoon the list of players for the trip to Guimarães in the 8 round of the league. Taking place in D. Afonso Henriques Staduim, Friday, at 20.15

Participated Squad:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício, and Tiago,
Defenders: Daniel Carriço, Pedro Silva, Tonel, Grimi, André Marques and Abel,
Midfielders: Adrien, Vukcevic, Matías Fernández, Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho and Pereirinha,
Forwards: Saleiro, Caicedo, Angulo, Hélder Postiga and Liedson.