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30/10/03
On Wednesday, Benfica were the visitors as Académica inaugurated the Coimbra Municipal Stadium, to be used at EURO 2004. It was a game that had been postponed from Day 3 precisely to have
crowd-pulling Benfica present at the inauguration. As it was, the game drew no more than 20,000 to the 30,000-seat stadium - a sign of how difficult it will be to ever fill the venue outside of the EURO 2004
competition.
Académica went ahead through an Argel own-goal after six minutes, but Benfica took just twenty minutes to turn it round with two fabulous strikes from Sokota and Simão. Sub Roger
also scored a cracker ten minutes from time to give Benfica a calm run-in to the final whistle.
28/10/03
FC Porto consolidated their position at the top of the SuperLiga table Monday with a hard fought, some would say unjust, victory at their close rivals Boavista, whose first defeat this was (see match reports). Boavista drop to 6th.
27/10/03
Sporting overcame an early shock to fully justify their three pojnts with a 2-1 win in a bad-tempered match at Alverca Sunday. Alverca had a lively start and went ahead on eight minutes, Torrão
clipping a cross shot from the edge of the box past Ricardo's right hand. Sporting needed twenty minutes to level, and it came from a dubious penalty, João Pinto appearing to exaggerate a fall in the box,
Rochemback converting from the spot. It was left to Brazilian striker Liedson
to pop up at the back post on 54 minutes to give Sporting the win, although they had enough possession and chances to win more comfortably.
Beira-Mar are the surprise team of the SuperLiga so far, beating União de Leiria 4-2 and climbing to fourth. On the half-hour, Douala put the visitors in front but Kingsley
equalised almost immediately. Sandro put Beira-Mar in front on 65, just after UDL's Edson had been sent off. Then on 83 minutes, Juninho Petrolina
gave Beira-Mar a two-goal margin, and in the last ten minutes there was time for Ludemar to give União a little hope and Rui Dolores to finally dash it.
Belenenses can't be trusted for consistency, it seems. This time they went to Madeira and came back with four goals in their baggage, conceded to Nacional. Captain João Fidalgo
headed Nacional in front from a corner on 40 minutes. Then in a six-minute spell in the second half, Adriano and Serginho Baiano (2) set the final score of 4-0.
Rio Ave escaped from the relegation zone, for the moment at least, with a 3-1 win over hapless Estrela da Amadora. Júlio César
put Estrela in front on 13 minutes, but the team retreated to defend and it was their undoing. Junas managed an equaliser before the break, and in the second half Jaime and Evandro, ten minutes
from time, put paid to Estrela's hopes.
Manoel gave Moreirense the lead on the hour at home to Académica, and Os Estudantes left to added time to equalise through Marcelo.
Vitória de Guimarães had drawn 1-1 at Gil Vicente Saturday. Guga put the visitors ahead on 14 minutes, and captain Casquilha gave Gil a point five mnutes from half time.
24/10/03
Sporting Braga went equal second with Marítimo Friday after beating bottom club Paços de Ferreira 1-0
away. Paços, under the guiding hand of the returning José Mota, may count themselves unlucky with two balls against the post and Braga's internatioanl 'keeper Quim putting in an excellent display - one double save in the second half was out of this world. They might also feel a little miffed at the manner of Braga's goal,
Wender guiding a Barroso free-kick in with his hand on the hour. But the fact is that Paços remain bottom, and Braga, looking good for a European place, are flying high at the other end.
21/10/03
Sporting beat Beira-Mar 3-1 Monday to go fourth in the SuperLiga. But it was not as easy as the score might suggest, although one thing certainly was easier: the pitch had been re-laid since the
last Sporting home game, and it was a pleasure not to see great tufts rising at each passing footstep.
This is not a strong Sporting team; Beira-Mar often looked superior, especially during the first part of the second half. But it was Sporting's superior firing power that won the day.
The first three goals were headers, Liedson getting Sporting's first on nine minutes, Sandro equalising on 25 and João Pinto
putting Sporting in front on the stroke of half time. Beira-Mar controlled the first part of the second half and might have reduced the score midway through the half when Kingsley was through on goal. But the game was killed 15 minutes from time when
Liedson got his second, pouncing on a loose ball in front of goal to poke it past the 'keeper.
Sporting climb to fourth behind FC Porto, Marítimo and Boavista.
20/10/03
Benfica said goodbye Sunday to the National Stadium (their home between the demolition of the old Luz and their move as from next week into the new one). And they did it with a narrow win (2-1) over
Gil Vicente. Sokota got Benfica's first on 28 minutes, Ferreira II equalised for Gil three minutes later but Simão
got the Reds' winner on the hour. Gil got six yellow cards, Benfica none, which goes some way to reflecting the type of game it was. Benfica rise to fourth, level on points with Sporting Braga.
Marítimo remain second behind FC Porto after securing a point (2-2) in the last ten minutes through central defender Van der Gaag at União de Leiria. Earlier, in a fifteen minute spell in
the middle of the first half, Marítimo had gone in front through Gaúcho but UDL had turned it round through Paulo Gomes and Douala.
Sporting Braga lost a good chance to keep in touch with the leaders when they dropped a home point to struggling Rio Ave. Wender
put Braga in front from the spot on 22 minutes, and Portuguese international 'keeper Quim kept Rio Ave at bay in their response until the 63rd minute when Jaime
shot from outside the box and the ball was deflected in.
Estrela da Amadora, promoted this season, are in all sorts of trouble and may well say goodbye to their coach João Alves after yet another defeat, this time at the hands of Alverca at home (0-3).
Zé Roberto got an early goal for the visitors on four minutes and was later sent off, as was Estrela's Lázaro. Then in added time at the end of the game, the promising Rodolfo Lima
nabed a brace and piled on the woe for sorry Estrela.
Day 8 closes Monday with a Sporting v Beira-Mar on the newly-laid pitch at Alvalade XXI.
19/10/03
Saturday's three SuperLiga games gave three away wins.
The heaviest was FC Porto's at Belenenses (1-4), but it all looked so rosy early on for the Lisbon side, Gonçalo Brandão
heading in from a corner after just five minutes. The first 15 minutes or so was the only period when Belenenses looked like they might do something, however; after that Porto began to impose their physical, tactical and psychological strength on the game, and then there was only one team in it.
Derlei headed in a cross from the left by Nuno Valente on 18 minutes, and on 33, Deco
crashed a first time volley in at the back post from a looping cross from the left by Maniche. When you might have expected Belenenses to react after half time, it was Porto who came out with all guns blazing,
César Peixoto
netting in a one-on-one with Belenenses 'keeper Marco Aurélio after just a minute. Pelé might have dragged Belenenses back into it immediately aftewards with a drive that struck the post, but it was
Marco Ferreira who killed the game on 52 minutes, Marco Aurélio once again beaten in a one-on-one.
Earlier, the other Porto team Boavista had trounced disappointing Paços de Ferreira 0-3, helped by the sending off of Paços' Zé Manuel for an aggression on Fary after just 24 minutes and a flurry of
goals in a five minute spell around the half hour through Ricardo Sousa, Pedro Santos and Fary
(a penalty). Boavista have yet to lose, but are still six points behind top team Porto. The bad news for Boavista was that captain and Portuguese international, the midfielder Fréchaut, fell and fractured a
tibia and will be out of action for at least a couple of months. He has just returned after a similar injury.
Académica, who said goodbye to their captain and top scorer Dário in the week (he went to Dubai), missed him and went down 0-1 at home to Nacional of Madeira and a goal by the inevitable
Adriano on 77 minutes.
18/10/03
Coach Augusto Inácio will have breathed a sigh of relief as his Vitória de Guimarães broke a six-game run of straight defeats Friday with a 3-0 victory over Moreirense. The pressure on the
players was evident as they came out at full speed, knocking the visitors off their balance and going ahead on four minutes after a game of header tennis in front of goal, finished off by Hugo Cunha. A
Bruno Alves free-kick on 35 minutes, deflected off the wall and wrong-footing Moreirense 'keeper Nuno Claro, sent Vítoria in at half-time with a comfortable lead.
Moreirense came back after the break with a little more organisation and a little more fight, but this did not translate into goals, and it was Vitória who went further ahead on the stroke of time with a penalty from
Fangueiro. The win means a leap out of the relegation zone, at least temporarily, for Vitória. It also means that Inácio holds onto his job, at least for the time being.
15/10/03
The Portuguese Referees Association (APAF) has warned that the referee for the upcoming local derby between Vitória de Guimarães and Moreirense, Carlos Xistra, may need special protection following
recent comments aimed at referees by Vitória president Pimenta Machado. The first few games of the SuperLiga have generated much controversy due to the perceived bias of referees expressed by some clubs (notably Vítoria, with six defeats in a row, and Sporting). Starting this season, referees have begun to be nominated by the Liga,
whereas they were allocated to games by draw up until the end of last season.
Meanwhile, SuperLiga referee Paulo Costa has welcomed the idea of bringing in foreign refs, unburdened by club affiliation, for matches.
11/10/03
There are no SuperLiga games this weekend due to call-ups for international games. See next weeks fixtures here.
07/10/03
Sporting Braga travelled south Monday and returned north with three points in the bag from a hard-fought, even battle at Alverca, once again (at this ground) in front of a meagre attendance. Former FC
Porto striker Pena put the visitors in front on 16 minutes, assisted by Swedish midfielder Söderstrom on the edge of the box. Full-back Amoreirinha
put Alverca on a level footing five minutes into the second half with a close-range effort (he was to miss a similar chance on the stroke of time), but twenty minutes before the end Braga's club captain and free-kick specialist Barroso came on as sub and changed the course of the game. His first kick was a free that Alverca 'keeper Yannick pushed around the post, but on 77 minutes the Frenchman was not so lucky, letting another free from
Barroso skid under his body. Alverca tried to react, but the nearest they got was that Amoreirinha snap shot on the stroke of time that sailed just over.
The result sees Sporting Braga join Boavista and Beira-Mar in third place on 13 points, while Alverca remain relatively comfortable on ten.
06/10/03
FC Porto copied the result of their eternal rivals Benifca Sunday, beating Académica 4-1 with a hat-trick from Brazilian forward Derlei. Académica were actually one-up within seven minutes through
Dário, but by half time Porto had put three on the board through César Peixoto and Derlei (2) and five minutes after the break, Derlei added another to fix the final score.
Beira-Mar continued their strong recent form to beat struggling Estrela da Amadora 3-0, Kingsley and Juninho scoring in the first half, Zeman adding one in the second.
Gil Vicente beat disappointing União de Leiria 2-0 at home, Nuno Amaro and Casquilha getting a goal in each half.
Rio Ave left the bottom of the table and put Paçõs de Ferreira there by beating them 2-1. Paços took the lead early in the second half through José Manuel, Franco and Idalécio
giving Rio Ave the points later in the half.
Vitória de Guimarães are in all sorts of trouble, losing their sixth game in a row, this time in Madeira and by 4-2 to Nacional. Bessa and João Tomás
got the Vitória goals, equalised both times by Adriano. Then in the dying minutes, Adriano got his hat-trick and Serginho
got another to give Vitória even more headaches than they already had.
05/10/03
Marítimo, who had faltered after a brilliant start to the season that saw them on top of the table, were back on track Saturday after beating Sporting 2-1. Sporting looked the better side early on and
went in front on 23 minutes, Liedson heading neatly home from a Tello cross. But Marítimo were back in it on the hour, Marcelo Carioca
clipping a free-kick beyond Ricardo's left hand and through a gaping hole in the side-netting. Then in the dying minutes, Silva claimed a penalty up one end, the ref waved play on, Marítimo swept to the other end on the counter and Rincón crossed from the right for
Alan to head in from close range. Marítimo go back to equal top with FC Porto.
Later in the evening, Benfica strolled to an easy 4-1 vitory over Moreirense, helped by the sending off of two Moreirense players: Vítor Pereira five muintes from half time and Armando ten
minutes from full-time. Simão and Fehér got two before the break, Simão slotted in a penalty ten minutes into the second half, Manoel
pulled one back on 70 minutes and on the stroke of time, sub Roger
got the goal of the match and an early candidate for goal of the season: Ricardo Rocha touched the ball inside to the Brazilian, he jinked the ball up with his right foot, swivelled, volleyed with his left and the ball dipped perfectly over the desperate grasp of Nuno Claro. Benfica jump from 10th to 6th.
04/10/03
Boavista dominated practically the whole game Friday at home to Belenenses, and were playing against ten men for most of the second half after Eliseu had been sent off, but they could still only force a
1-1 draw faced with a resilient Belenenses defence. It was the team from Lisbon that went ahead just before the break, Antchouet
beating the offside trap and rounding William to knock home. Boavista threw everything at the visitors in the second half, and Yuri hit the bar before the same player cut the ball inside for Ricardo Sousa
to sweep in a last minute equaliser, deflected off Filgueira. Belenenses coach, formerly of Boavista, Manuel José was scathing of the referee, but he will be secretly happy with the point against a Boavista side that is beginning to show real promise under Erwin Sanchez.
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