Sporting defeated Santa Clara in the Azores 2-1 on Saturday in a match in which they dominated in the first half and suffered greatly in the second, thanks to the good performance of goalkeeper Adán, who was criticized after the debacle in Marseille and was ultimately decisive with at least three major interventions.
Rúben Amorim left Gonçalo Inácio on the bench and gave the title to St. Just in the ashes of the defence. But the main change was the initial bet on Paulinho, with Trincao starting on the bench. On the Santa Clara side (he played with nine Brazilians in the 11 and only one Portuguese, Ricardinho), given the various impediments, coach Mário Silva was forced to make several changes, especially in defense, even by substitutions of goalkeepers, with Gabriel Batista making his debut .
Even without pushing too hard, Sporting was always the team that was most looking for the goal in the first half. And in five minutes, two penalties were reversed by VAR. First at 17″, with Soares Dias signaling the maximum penalty for an alleged foul on Nuno Santos, but after consultation with the video referee reversed the decision. And at 22″, in an alleged hand that was also not at the end.
The first Leonine goal came on 29″ from Morita, a former Santa Clara player. The Japanese (who did not celebrate out of respect) scored with a header, after a first shot by Edwards that saved Gabriel forward.
At the start of the second half, Sporting got a big scare, thanks to Adán’s good reflexes, who made a fine save on a shot by Bicalho that got deflected.
The Azores were transfigured in the second half and appeared more often near the lion territory, resulting in the changes made by Mário Silva. At 68″, Adán shone again with a clever intervention on a strong shot from outside Ricardinho’s penalty area. It was the redemption of the Spanish goalkeeper after the debacle in Marseille, as if to respond to the confidence of Rúben Amorim – “22 minutes erase 92 matches and four titles”.
Taking advantage of Sporting’s strange sleepiness in the second half, Santa Clara was always the most dangerous side. And Adán was decisive again at 83″, with a huge save from Bruno Almeida. At 90″, the Lions scored again, in a cross by Nuno Santos on the edge of the area. A goal that made Rúben Amorim breathe a sigh of relief, despite seeing the Azores diminished by Tagawa on the final whistle.
Source: DN
