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25/03/03
The two clubs still in the UEFA Cup had opposite fortunes in the SuperLiga Monday.
FC Porto proved their resilience in Madeira. They were losing 0-1 to Nacional and a goal from their top scorer Adriano, but they made key subsitutions and turned it smartly around in the second
half to win 2-1 with goals from Derlei and Ricardo Carvalho.
Boavista, on the other hand, dominated the first half of their home game with Belenenses and went in at half-time1-0 up through Silva. But in the second half, against a more organised Belenenses
team led by former Boavista coach Manuel José and on an increasingly waterlogged pitch, they threw it away with slack defending and gifts to the Belenenses attack that let in Anchouet, Carlos Ferndandes
and Chico Silva to make the final score 1-3.
On Sunday, Vitória de Guimarães and Sporting Braga fought out a 1-1
draw that allowed Gil Vicente (winners over Sporting Friday) to catch up on Vitória in fourth spot. Both goals came in the last 20 minutes, Castanheira putting Braga in front on 73 minutes, Romeu
equalising two minutes later.
União de Leiria are still in sixth after a 0-0 draw with Académica, who remain in the relegation zone.
Madeira side Marítimo consolidated their mid-table position in their first game under new coach Nikolai Byshovets with a 2-0 win over faltering Varzim, both goals coming from top scorer Gaúcho
on 34 and 83 minutes. After a promising start to the season, Varzim are plummeting towards the relegation places.
Going the other way are the continually improving Moreirense, 2-0 winners at now bottom club Vitória de Setúbal. Vítor Pereira early on and Demétrios
ten minutes from time secured the result. Vitória have yet to win a game under new coach Diamantino, and there were disturbances caused by angry home fans after the game.
Beira-Mar dragged themselves off the bottom and continue to believe in salvation with an impressive 3-1 home win over Paços de Ferreira. It was all over within the hour: João Armando
put through his own goal to give Beira-Mar the lead after only three minutes, Cadu equalised five minutes later, but two goals from Senegalese striker Fary on 16 and 59 minutes settled the score.
On Saturday, Benfica had consolidated their second place and access to the Champions League with a 1-0 win at home over Santa Clara. Benfica did not impress in what was the farewell to the Luz
Stadium, due to be completely demolished, and Santa Clara often looked the more organised side. But a foul on Nuno Gomes in the second half and the penalty taken by captain Simão Sabrosa
- the last goal to be scored in A Catedral - made sure that Benfica said goodbye to their traditional home on a relative high.
22/03/03
Sporting are making things difficult for themselves in their bid to make the runners-up spot and thus a place in the Champions League. Gil Vicente did the double over them Friday by beating them 1-0
at home (they'd beaten them 3-0 in Alvalade). Luis Coentrão
got the winner on 41 minutes, but he was off-side and had also pushed a defender to get the goal ... Benfica can extend their lead over Sporting to seven points if they win on Saturday.
Benfica's last ever game in their legendary Luz stadium, against Santa Clara
Saturday, is heading for a sell-out. The capacity of the depleted stadium (a quarter is missing to make way for the new one being built alongside it) is 50,000, and almost all of these tickets had been sold by Friday evening. Another 50,000 are on sale for entry to the pitch for the post-match show, starring Brazilian singer
Daniela Mercury.
18/03/03
Vitória de Guimarães consolidated their fourth place, eight points behind Sporting, when they beat Varzim 0-1
away Monday. It was an evenly-fought game, but seven minutes from time, Rodolfo fluffed a back pass to Paulo Santos in the Varzim goal and Rafael
pouinced to take the points back to Guimarães. It was Luís Campos' first game in charge at Varzim after being sacked at Vitória de Setúbal - not an auspicious start.,
17/03/03
Sporting lost ground to local rivals Benfica for second place in the SuperLiga when they drew 1-1 at home to Boavista Sunday (See Match Reports). Boavista were down to ten men
after five minutes, but even that advantage was not enough to shake Sporting out of the rut they find themselves in. The team and the coach were jeered off the pitch once again. They now trail Benfica by four points.
Benfica found easy pickings at Académica Saturday, coming out 4-1 winners. Three of their goals were scored by defenders, Armando, Miguel and João Manuel Pinto. Simão
scored the other, his sixteenth of the season, consolidating his lead at the top of the goalscoring table. Dário got a consolation for Académica, still teetering on the brink of relegation.
FC Porto sail calmly on to the title, winning 2-0 at home to União de Leiria Sunday. Midfielder Alenitchev opened the scoring on 18, and midfield partner Deco
closed it on 81. They maintain a 13-point lead over Benfica.
Azores side Santa Clara left the relegation places for the first time in months with a 3-1 win over fellow-strugglers Beira-Mar. Tucho put them in front on the stroke of half-time, then
Ricardo Sousa equalised from the spot for the visitors on 57. But in the last fifteen minutes, Fonseca and Tucho, again, sealed the result.
Vitória de Setúbal creep above Beira-Mar at the bottom, but only just. Nacional took the lead through Rossato in their game at Setúbal's Bonfim Stadium, Hugo Henriques equalised,
Adriano got his 13th of the season to restore Nacional's lead and Vitória left it until 12 minutes from time to establish the final result, 2-2, through Meyong.
Paços de Ferreira ´keeper Pedro kept them in their game at home to Marítimo, the game ending as it had begun, 0-0. Sporting Braga and Gil Vicente fought out the same result.
15/03/03
Belenenses lost their first game under coach Manuel José Friday when they went down 1-3 at Moreirense. Belenenses were leading at half time with a goal by Verona, a goal which prompted
unjustified scnes of revolt in the crowd. Referee Pedro Proençã had to wait eight minutes to return to the dressing room at half-time, claiming lack of security, and the game was 20 minutes late re-starting for the
same reason. Once the riot police had been installed at the front of the main stand to protect the linesman on that side, the second half began and Moreirense turned the tables, ultimately deserving their win with
goals from Demétrios, Víitor Pereira and Afonso Martins. Belenenses' full back Sousa was sent off fifteen minutes from time for a bad foul.
The last game ever at the Luz stadium, legendary home of Benfica, will be against Santa Clara
next Saturday, March 22nd, kick-off at 17.15. The ground, already eaten into to allow for the advance of the new stadium being built next door, will be demolished in the coming months. (Fixtures)
08/03/03
The SiuperLiga takes a break this weekend while the quarter-finals of the Taça de Portugal are played out.
05/03/03
In the last ever clássico at Benfica's Luz Stadium before it is demolished at the end of the season, Benfica
were unable to contradict the form books and went down 0-1 to top team FC Porto in front of a packed house. Benfica remain in second ahead of Sporting, but Porto's lead is now 13 points, and
with only ten games left, it's a lead that looks increasingly insurmountable. (See Match Reports)
04/03/03
Boavista climbed to ninth in the SuperLiga Monday with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Sporting Braga at the Bessa Stadium in Oporto, centre-backs scoring all the goals. Brazilian Paulo Turra
put Boavista in front on nine minutes, slamming home a loose ball after Braga ´keeper Quim had collided with his own centre-back Antia, later substituted. Then Artur Jorge
did the same for Braga five minutes into the second half, poking home a loose ball from a corner. In the dying minutes, Turra's Brazilian teammate Éder
bundled in another loose ball after Quim had been beaten to the jump at the near post by Cafú.
03/03/03
Paços de Ferreira pulled off a major surprise Sunday by trouncing fourth place Vitória de Guimarães 4-1
away. Paços had scored just two goals away all season before this game, which makes the surprise even greater. Their finishing was deadly on the night, whereas Vitória had more of the play, more attcks and more shots on goal, but they could only break the Paços defence once, Paços 'keepr Pedro in excellent form. Paços were two up after 11 minutes,
Renato Queiróz with a header and Pedrinha with a penalty. Vitória woke up and pulled one back throuh Fangueiro
on 25, and would have had a chance to level minutes later when they should have been awarded a penalty. But it was Paços who went further in front, former Boavista forward Serginho
latching onto a bad back-pass by Ricardo Silva and going on to tuck the ball past Palatsi. Renato Queiróz
got a second just before the break with a header that was almost identical to his first, and the score stayed at 1-4 until the end, Vitória putting in the effort but finding themselves impotent against a very convincing Paços side.
Sporting missed a great chance to draw level with Benfica in second Saturday when they could only draw 1-1 at a misty Belenenses. João Pinto
sent the Lions in one up at half time, the diminutive forward somehow beating 'keeper Marco Aurélio to a cross and heading in, but ten minutes from time, the even more diminutive Belenenses midfielder Rui Borges
cut in from the right and clipped a shot over Tiago, although the Sporting ´keeper got a hand to it.
Also on Saturday, Vitória de Setúbal earned a precious point in their fight against the drop when they travelled to União de Leiria and squeezed a 1-1 draw out of the visit. Hugo Almeida
got the União goal on the half-hour from a long throw by Bilro, but Vitória came back and nicked a point in the dying minutes with a shot from Jorginho after good work on the right by Cândido Costa.
Back to Sunday, there was another 1-1 draw, this time in Madeira. Visitors Moreirense went in front on 17 minutes with a free-kick from Vítor Pereira, but Nacional
got an equaliser on 38 through Patacas, and that's the way it stayed.
Bottom club Beira-Mar kept their hopes of survival alive with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Académica. Ferreira supplied the only goal of the game.
A Paulo Alves penalty gave Gil Vicente the lead over Varzim after 38 minutes, but it wasn't until five minutes from time that they extended their lead, this time through Rui Figueiredo.
Pepa got a consolation for Varzim in added time. The 2-1 win means that Gil move above União de Leiria into fifth, just three points behind Vitória de Guimarães.
01/03/03
Marítimo let two points slip Friday when Santa Clara's Bruno Ribeiro shot an equaliser in added time. Central defender van der Gaag
had given Marítimo the lead on 14 minutes. Marítimo are in an unusually tight position for them: three points only above the relegation zone. Their fans showed their discontentment at the end with whistles and white handkerchiefs. Coach
Nelo Vigada's job could be on the line.
FC Porto are top of the rankings for the Primeira/SuperLiga over the last five seasons (A Bola). The top ten teams in order are:
FC Porto
Sporting
Benfica
Boavista
União de Leiria
Marítimo
Vitória de Guimarães
Sporting Braga
Belenenses
Gil Vicente
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