30/11/04 FC Porto had to hang on by the skin of their teeth Monday to beat Vitória de Setúbal
in their top of the table clash. Porto never really got their game going but nevertheless did enough to win 1-0, despite losing Jorge Costa just before the break for a second yellow. The captain had headed Porto
in front on 24 minutes from a corner by Diego. Vitória were unaable to make inroads into the depleted Porto rearguard throughout the second half and although they had most of the possession, they cannot really complain
too loudly about the result. Porto return to top spot in the league. 29/11/04 Benfica missed the chance of going top Sunday when they went down 0-1 at União de Leiria
, the single goal scored by Fangueiro
on 13 minutes. Benfica's play was largely disconnected and directionless, but they still managed to create several chances, three of which (from Simão, Sokota and Zahovic) were brilliantly saved by União's Brazilian 'keeper Helton. Benfica have won just one from their last five.
Benfica's Lisbon neighbours Sporting did not have the same problem and romped past bottom club Moreirense 4-1 at Alvalade. Chilean striker Pinilla
scored only his second for Sporting on eight minutes to send them on their way and Carlos Martins
curled a shot in from the edge of the box to give Sporting a two-nil lead at half-time. Former Sporting midfielder Afonso Martins
reduced the margin with a header ten minutes into the second half causing Sporting to wobble momentarily, but then they took control again on 64 with a drive from Hugo Viana, and Liedson
topped up his season's tally with a late header. Sporting draw to within a point of Benfica. Gil Vicente's revival continues under Ulisses Morais, and they stole a point in Madeira against high-flying
Marítimo. The home side took the lead on the half hour through Leo Lima, but Luís Coentrão secured a point for Gil twenty minutes from time. Another team that has come around is Penafiel.
After a shaky start, they are putting together some promising results, and pushed Académica downwards with a 3-1 win. Clayton opened the scoring on 20 minutes, Rafael Gaúcho equalised for
Os Estudantes five minutes before half-time, but Penafiel finished them off with two goals in two minutes in the second half, through Wesley with a penalty on 67 and Roberto. Struggling
Vitória de Guimarães nabbed their first away win of the season at Estoril, Nuno Assis
netting the only goal of the game a quarter of an hour from the end. Estoril's cause was not helped by Elias getting a second yellow and the consequent red five minutes from time. Rio Ave
put in another positive performance and trounced Nacional 4-1, whose sixth away defeat this was. Delson on two minutes set the tone, and Paulo César made it two just before the break.
Franco and Saulo added two more in the second before André Pinto
got a consolation for Nacional on 82. The Madeiran side qualified for the UEFA cup last season, but are a big disappointment this time around. 28/11/04 Sporting Braga
went equal second with Benfica and FC Porto Saturday after they beat Belenenses 2-1 in Restelo. Antchouet put the home side in front on 57 minutes, but it took Braga just two minutes to draw level, Pelé
putting through his own goal in an untidy scramble. Wender from the spot gave Braga the three points on 73 minutes. 27/11/04 Boavista went top of the SuperLiga
Friday with a workmanlike win over Beira-Mar, yet to win under Manuel Cajuda. Boavista did not create so many chances but were clinical with the clear chances they had. Cafú
bundled in on 25 minutes, but it wasn't until the last ten minutes that Boavista killed the game, with a goal from Zé Manuel and a second from Cafú. Boavista are one point ahead of FC Porto and Benfica,
who both have a game in hand. 23/11/04 Académica and Belenenses drew 1-1 Monday in the last game of the 11th jornada of the SuperLiga. Dário put
Os Estudantes in front, five minutes before the break, but he fouled a defender to score. Jorge Tavares
equalised for the visitors a quarter of an hour from the end. Belenenses remain eighth, Académica jump to 13th. 22/11/04 Benfica missed the chance to go clear at the top of the
Superliga Sunday when they let a two-goal lead slip twice to finally draw 3-3 with Rio Ave at the Luz. They were two-up after 20 minutes, both goals coming from top scorer Simão. Franco
pulled one back on 25 but Sokota restored the two-goal advantage on the half-hour. The second half saw a much more timid Benfica, and a smart Rio Ave capitalised on that with further goals from Paulo César
on the hour and Jacques ten minutes from time. Benfica join FC Porto at the top on 22 points, while Rio Ave, for whom this was the eighth draw from eleven games, are bubb,ing under the
European places. Vitória de Setúbal could have gone top themselves had they beaten Gil Vicente in Barcelos, but Gil are proving a tougher nut to crack under Ulisses Morais and two goals from Nandinho
, on 18 and 58 minutes, proved enough to throw them a lifeline at the bottom of the table. Manuel José had given Vitória hopes on 50. Sporting Braga beat Estoril 2-0
to move up to fifth with Marítimo, but left it until very late to make sure of the win. Jaime Alves put them in front on 13 minutes, and Cicero made sure of the three points three minutes from time.
Vitória de Guimarães continue to struggle to drag themselves out of the bottom reaches. Sunday saw them draw 1-1 at home to União de Leiria. Vitória went in front on 33 minutes through Hungarian
defender Dragoner, but União, who remain mid-table, equalised through Caíco on 65. Moreirense are another side that are struggling, this time managing only a 2-2 draw at home to Penafiel
. It was all settled in the first half, Wesley putting Penafiel in front as early as the second minute and Fernando Aguiar extending the lead on 19. Lito led the Moreirense revival on 25, and
Nuno Diogo put through his own goal three minutes later to give the home side a point of honour. 21/11/04 Saturday brought a night of some surprise in the Superliga
. Boavista, fresh from a 6-1 spanking by Sporting last week, rebounded with a vengeance against local rivals, league leaders and ... European Champions FC Porto. Porto dominated in terms of
possession and territory for most of the game, but unlike last week's leaky-boat display, Boavista were rock solid in defence, and Porto were clearly lacking a guiding hand in midfield, Diego and Carlos Alberto both out
through injury. In addition, they were reduced to ten men on 35 minutes, McCarthy lashing out at Milhazes behind the referee's back but the linesman seeing all. The second half saw Boavista continuing an at times
desperate but always plucky rearguard action, and towards the end, they had various chances to score, most notably a lob at goal from Martelinho that went wide with Baía way out of position. Then in added time came the
goal. Cafú
was in an off-side position as he ran onto a through ball and slotted it past Baía, but Boavista had been disallowed a goal in the first half when Toñito had headed fairly in, so that it could be said that justice prevailed.
Boavista climb to third, two points behind Porto, who remain top, at least until Sunday when Benfica can go above them if they beat Rio Ave. Sporting
would be equal with Boavista if they had been more clinical at Beira-Mar. The home side went ahead on 34 minutes, Kingsley
heading home a simple goal after McPhee had headed a back-post cross back across the goal. The joy of Beira-Mar, who have yet to win under Manueol Cajuda, was short-lived. On 39 minutes, Carlos Martins laced a ball through to
Douala and the Cameroonian forward tucked it past Srnicek in the Beira-Mar goal. Seven minutes into the second half, it was the same Douala
who put Sporting in front, meeting a low Liedson cross from the right and forcing the ball in off a defender from close range. And so it stayed, with Sporting always threatening and Beira-Mar always potentially dangerous, until added time, when
Heitor beat the off-side trap and lobbed a cross from the right over Ricardo with his head. 20/11/04 Nacional and Marítimo drew in the opening game of the 11th
jornada Friday. Manduca put Marítimo in front on the stroke of half-time after a mistake from Hilário, but Argentinian defender Ávalos
secured a point for Nacional four minutes into the second half with a cross-cum-shot. Alan was sent off in the second for Marítimo, who remain fourth. 16/11/04 Rio Ave
chalked up their 7th draw of the season, 1-1 at home to Vitória de Guimarães Monday. Evandro put Rio Ave in front on the stroke of half-time, and Alex
equalised for Vitória twenty minutes into the second half. Rio Ave remain mid-table, while Vitória are still rooted near the bottom, just above the relegation zone. 15/11/04
Before Sunday, Boavista had the best defensive record in the league, along with FC Porto: six goals conceded in nine games. Their disastrous visit to Sporting doubled this total. Jaime Pacheco had his
men blatantly playing it cagey from the word go, and they never really stood a chance against a Sporting side firing on all cylinders. Cameroonian winger Douala
got the first, a glanced header at the near post form a corner, setting the ball rolling against his former club. Even so, as half-time approached, there was the feeling that if Boavista could reach half-time just one down, then they could perhaps turn it around in the second half. But
Hugo Viana got two in a minute just before the break, bothe helped by woeful defending from the northern side, to effectively put the game beyond Boavista's reach. Pacheco made some changes at half time,
bringing on centre-forward Flores - they had been relying on diminutive João Pinto as target man int he first half - but the difference was negligible. Sporting were irrepressible. Custódio
made it four on 49 minutes, Flores managed a consolation on 78, but in the last ten minutes, Liedson and Pinilla, scoring his first league goal for Sporting, piled on the misery to leave the score
6-1. Boavista will find it hard to recover psychologically from this catastrophe, and they have to travel across town next weekend to meet the mighty FC Porto. Sporting looked sharp and can be optimistic about
the coming weeks. Sporting take fifth place from Boavista, who move down one. Earlier in the evening, União de Leiria, once again playing in front of a mere coule of thousand spectators in one
of the stadia purpose-built for Euro 2004, drew 0-0 with Sporting Braga. Braga stay sixth, UDL ninth. 14/11/04 Benfica lost top spot to FC Porto
Saturday when they could only draw in Madeira against Marítimo, while Porto travelled to Barcelos to beat Gil Vicente. In a scintillating first quarter of an a hour, Marítimo
looked like they might take Benfica to the cleaners with their fluid, attacking football. Pena, on nine minutes, put them in front, and they were creating so many openings that it seemed like only a
matter of time before a second would go in. But Simão, so often Benfica's saviour, was jsut that again here when he stroked a free-kick over the wall and in on 15 minutes. The rest of the half was fast and
furious, with Marítimo having the best of play, but the second was an anti-climax, apart from an Alan shot early on that was a certain goal until Moreira, snaked a hand up to tip over. And 1-1 it remained.
Earlier, FC Porto had got all three points at Gil Vicente with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from man-of-the-match Ricardo Quaresma on the half hour and Costinha
at the curtain. Porto continued their press blackout in protest at coach Víctor Fernandez's suspension, which ends next week. Porto have 22 points, Benfica 21 and surprise team Vitória de Setúbal
20. They beat Madeiran side Nacional 1-0, the only goal scored by sub Igor a quarter of an hour from time. Belenenses got back to their winning ways with a 3-0 win over Moreirense
. Neca laid the first stone of the home side's victory on 18 minutes, and Rodolfo Lima and Amaral in the second half made the three points safe and sound. Beira-Mar
continue to struggle under coach Manuel Cajuda, who chalked up his sixth defeat since coming in to replace Mick Wadsworth. Penafiel's 2-1
win over the side from Aveiro dragged them out of the relegation zone, while Beira-Mar are ever closer to it. The game was decided early on, Fernando Aguiar opening the scoring for Penafiel on three minutes,
Paul Murray equalising on 10 and Wesley scoring from the spot on 22. 13/11/04 Académica managed their first away win of the season Friday on their trip to Estoril,
who had come to the game off the back of two straight wins. It was a poor spectacle, the teams separated by a single goal, scored by Gaúcho
ten minutes into the second half. Ten minutes from time, Académica's Nuno Piloto was sent off shorlty after he had come on as sub, but Académica managed to hang on for all three points. 09/11/04
After a tight and tense first half that ended even, FC Porto exploded in the second to sweep past Sporting 3-0 in Monday night's clássico. McCarthy
opened the scoring on 57 minutes, Ricardo challenged by Jorge Costa and fumbling a high ball that fell for the South African to drive home. Sporting were still in it but were practically out on 80 when Diego
shrugged off two defenders on the right and shot in from an angle. And they were out for the count on 86 when Carlos Alberto took a square pass from Diego and was calm enough to pick his spot from close range.
Porto move up to second within one point of Benfica. Their Víctor Fernandez, banned for two weeks, watched from the stands, and no one appeared at the press conference in protest. He was banned for
contesting a refereeing decision in the recent cup tie against Vitória de Guimarães. Sporting lost their first game after five straight wins in all competitions and are seventh, six points adrift
of their Lisbon rivals. The teams lined up: FC Porto:
Vítor Baía, Seitaridis, Jorge Costa, Pedro Emanuel, Ricardo Costa (Areias, 40 m), Costinha, Maniche; Ricardo Quaresma (Carlos Alberto, 78 m), Diego (Raul Meireles, 87 m), Derlei, McCarthy.Sporting:
Ricardo, Enakarhire, Beto, Polga, Rui Jorge, Rogério, Custódio, Hugo Viana (Carlos Martins, 71 m), Rochemback (Pedro Barbosa, 71 m), Douala (Pinilla, 59 m), Liedson. 08/11/04
Benfica went clear at the top of the SuperLiga Sunday with a conclusive 4-0 victory over challengers Vitória de Setúbal. Benfica put in a display that was patently lacking in midweek in
Stuttgart, and Vitória were never really in it except for the last quarter of an hour. Norwegian striker Karadas
got the first, heading a Simão corner firmly home at the back post. Five minutes into the second half, it was Karadas who crossed low for Sokota, on for the badly injured Nuno Gomes (knee), to take his time and
slam home from close range. On 71 minutes, Geovanni persisted in his run into the box and capitalised on some dreadful defending to knock home the loose ball, and a minute from time, Simão
cracked home a volley from an acute angle at the back post. Rio Ave lost their unbeaten record with a 0-3 stumble at Sporting Braga. Jaime and Castanheira in the first half and
João Tomás early in the second sentenced Rio Ave. Estoril continue to surprise. Home side Moreirense went in front through Fernando
five minutes before the break, but Estoril turned it around late in the second half to win 2-1 through Dorival and Yuri. Krpan as early as the third minute gave União de Leiria
the three points at Académica, but they were helped by Dário missing a pnealty in the second half. Gil Vicente remain bottom despite a well-earned draw in Madeira against Nacional, 0-0
the score. 07/11/04 Marítimo and Boavista both went (provisionally) to the top of the SuperLiga Saturday, along with Benfica and Vitória de Setúbal.. Marítimo drew
1-1 at Vitória de Guimarães. Brazilian striker Manduca put Marítimo in front as early as the seventh minute, but it needed a merely goalward free-kick from Hungarian central defender Dragoner,
that found its way into the net following a foul and the resultant sending-off of Evaldo, to put Vitória even, and that's the way the score remained. Boavista
were rather fortunate to have two penalties given to them, and two opposition players sent off. In fact, they were behind to Penafiel from the half-hour, a magnificent strike from Clayton, who jinked
inside from the right and curled in a shot that pinged off the left-hand post and in. It wasn't until the 77th minute that Boavista saw their pressure (generally aimless, it must be said) bear fruit. Nuno Silva stopped
João Pinto from getting to a cross and saw a yellow and a penalty awarded against his team. José Manuel
converted. Then on 91 minutes, the same Nuno Silva 'tripped' the same João Pinto, got a second yellow and consequent red and José Manuel got a second penalty. In added time, Odair also saw red. 06/11/04 The opening game of the ninth jornada of the SuperLiga was a ding-dong battle, both Beira-Mar and Belenenses
going for the win and providing an excellent game of football, which ended up all square at 3-3. Belenenses' top scorer, the Gabonese Antchouet, was the man of the match with a hat-trick that he
started after only two minutes. 'Tanque' Silva with a textbook header drew the home side level just before the break, and he gave them the lead just after it. Antchouet
put Belenenses back level on 67 minutes, Heitor, on as sub just minutes earlier, restored Beira-Mar's lead on 77 and Antchouet
sealed the final score two minutes later, tapping in from a perfect low cross by Brasilia. Belenenses remain ninth, Beira-Mar 13th. 02/11/04 Vitória de Setúbal
drew level with Benfica at the top of the SuperLiga Monday with a 1-0 win over hapless Vitória de Guimarães. It was a tight game with few clear chances, but Ricardo Chaves
managed to break the deadlock ten minutes from time, firing in a loose ball that deflected wildly off a defender and into the roof of the net. Setúbal play Benfica at the Luz next weekend. Earlier, high-riding
Marítimo put two past Sporting Braga without reply in Madeira. Leo Lima gave Marítimo the lead on the half-hour, but it was only two minutes before the end that they could rest easy through
Bibishokov. The two results leave the top of the SuperLiga very tight. Benfica and Vitória de Setúbal both have 17 points, FC Porto and Marítimo are on 16 and Boavista and Sporting are on 14. FC Porto's players were the object of serious verbal abuse after the draw with Nacional in Madeira Sunday ... from their own fans, members of the SuperDragões claque
, recently at odds with the now-Chelsea coach José Mourinho. The players were insulted at the airport in Funchal, and the insults were resumed at Sá Carneiro Airport in Porto. Then members of the claque, in
cars, 'escorted' the team coach to the hotel where the players are staying prior to Tuesday's vital CL clash with Paris St Germain. And at the hotel the insults continued, with some pushing and shoving to boot.
The official claques
are normally spoilt by the clubs, receiving free or subsidised tickets and transport and financial help for things like banners and even offices. The next few days will see what the club's reaction will be to the latest excesses of the biggest FCP
claque. 01/11/04 Benfica stole a point with the last kick of the game at Gil Vicente to keep top spot in the SuperLiga, but they can count themselves very
lucky not to come away empty-handed. Gil were the more combative and organised of the two sides, although Benfica clearly dominated in terms of possession. But it was Gil who went in front five minutes from time through
former Benfica forward Nandinho, tapping a low Jorge Ribeiro cross home from close range. An uninspired Benfica found it very hard to react, and they found it even harder when Greek full back Fyssas saw a second
yellow five minutes from time for simulating a foul in the area. But in the dying seconds, Karadas was fouled on the edge of the area, and on his 25th birthday, Simão
stepped up and cracked the free-kick through the wall and past the otherwise excellent Paulo Jorge. Gil could have done with the three points, though - they remain rooted at the bottom with just four from eight games, but they looked a more organised side under new coach Ulisses Morais.
Earlier in the evening, Boavista climbed to third, along with Sporting and Vitória de Setúbal, with a 2-1 win at Belenenses. This game was also decided in the dying minutes, Tiago
thumping home the loose ball after Marco Aurélio had knocked out Zé Manuel's cross. Boavista had gone in front on seven minutes of an exciting first half through André Barreto, volleying in at the back post from
a cross by Frechaut. Belenenses drew level after a quarter of an hour through Gabonese striker Antchouet, knocking the ball past the splendid Khadim in a one-on-one. Former Boavista midfielder José Pedro was sent
off halfway through the second half, which put Belenenses on the back foot, and then came the late goal from Tiago. The result of the day was Estoril's 5-0 drubbing of Beira-Mar, struggling under coach
Manuel Cajuda who replaced Mick Wadsworth last month. They were 3-0 up by half-time through Arrieta (2) and Dorival, and Yuri, on as sub, put two more nails in Beira-Mar's coffin in the second half.
Rio Ave are the only unbeaten team in the SuperLiga apart from FC Porto. This time they went beyond the habitual draw and saw off Académica 3-1. Gama just before the break and
Ricardo Nascimento just after gave them a cushion, pricked by a Luciano penalty on 71 minutes. It wasn't until added time that Rio Ave could make the result safe through Paulo César.
União de Leiria continue to be a shadow of the side they have been in recent seasons and could thank 'keeper Helton for their blank sheet in the 0-0 home draw with Moreirense. The game, played in the
30,000-capacity stadium purpose-built for Euro 2004, was watched by a mere 2,300 fans. |
