Lions caught in Madeira | Sporting Clube de Portugal official website
Sporting Clube de Portugal’s main football team lost, this Sunday, to CS Marítimo by 1-0 in a game counting for the 15th round of the Liga Portugal played at Estádio dos Barreiros, in Funchal.
For this match, Rúben Amorim made some changes in the starting eleven, in relation to the last game, and after starting Antonio Adán, Gonçalo Inácio, Sabastián Coates, Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro, Manuel Ugarte, Mateus Fernandes, Arthur, Marcus Edwards, Paulinho and Francisco Trincao.
The home team started well in the match and, during the first 15 minutes, kept the plus sign, creating danger next to the goal defended by Antonio Adán and not letting Sporting CP reach the opposing area, but when the Lions managed to make progress on the built ground -not always with danger.
After the first quarter of an hour of the match, and in just two minutes, Sporting CP came close to opening the scoring three times.
First by Paulinho who, after receiving from Pedro Porro from the right, forced Marcelo Carné to make a great save for a corner and then, in the corner, it was Gonçalo Inácio to head the ball over the bar. Then it was a well-timed deflection that prevented an almost certain goal from Paulinho.
CS Marítimo responded to Sporting CP’s warnings and again created danger for the Leonina goal, with emphasis on a shot by Bruno Xadas, who tried to surprise the green and white goalkeeper, but the ball went way over the top.
Until the break there were no other great chances of goals, but Sporting CP managed to have more ball, even without being able to create danger to open the scoring. Thus, the two teams went to the changing rooms with 0-0 on the scoreboard.
At the start of the second half, both coaches kept the starting eleven, but led to thinking about messing with Rúben Amorim to send the three most offensive men on the bench to win: Rochinha, Nuno Santos and Jovane Cabral.
Even so, Sporting CP’s re-entry into the game was better and more dangerous, with the Lions following fast and focused on the opposing goal. As a result, Pedro Porro fell twice in a row in the area, but the referee Hélder Malheiro always ordered him to follow immediately.
Minutes later, a decision was different with the referee signaling a big decision in favor of CS Marítimo after a foul by Mateus Fernandes on Liza and, in the conversion, Cláudio Winck did not miss the 1-0.
Sporting CP was thus forced to chase the loss and, therefore, Rúben Amorim immediately launched Nuno Santos, causing Arthur to leave, and then Rochinha came on to replace Mateus Fernandes.
With more ‘legs’ in the attack, the Lions almost didn’t disarm the opposing area, but the Maritimista team managed to avoid the Leonine attacks and, in a counterattack, try to make it 2-0.
At 15 minutes of the final, the green and white coach made two more substitutions, launching Jeremiah St. Juste and Jovane Cabral to replace Sebastián Coates and Marcus Edwards.
More heart in the last minutes, which had many stops, with the Lions intensely looking for the goal and, in the 84th minute, the 1-1 was close to happening in a cut by Matheus going out to the side net.
In the 89th minute, and already after the referee had heard the VAR due to a possible large decrease in favor of the Lions, Sporting CP was close to the goal again, in a low cross by Nuno Santos, but Pedro Porro, who appeared alone at the far post , did not arrive in time for the shot.
Another six minutes to play, after regular time, and the Leonina team started them with another opportunity, this time by Rochinha, but the ball ended up going wide.
Until the final whistle, Sporting CP did not disarm the opponent’s area, but did not manage to score, with the maritime defense solving with forward kicks.
An inglorious result for the Lions, who deserved to leave Madeira with another result. Sporting CP will now play again next Sunday, at 6 pm, against SL Benfica in Luz.