Sérgio Conceição’s praise for Casa Pia’s defensive organization and team spirit, ahead of the I Liga 15th round match, was justified and eventually turned against FC Porto, who this Saturday stumbled in the trip to Jamor and missed the chance to regain second place in the table.
Filipe Martins’ team imposed a goalless draw on the champions, despite playing with one less player throughout the second half. The exclusion of Lucas Soares, after 45+1 minutes, was not enough for FC Porto to overcome the sensational progress of Casa Pia, who this season were promoted to the top division after an 83-year absence and saw themselves overtaken by Sporting de Braga in second place. Place. place (34 to 33) and leave rivals Benfica more in the lead, with 40. The ‘geese’, on the other hand, continue with team sensation status and are fifth, with 27.
Sérgio Conceição made no changes from the starting eleven who beat Arouca 5-1 in the last round, while Godwin, after suspension, and Clayton were the newcomers, in the places of Romário Baró, unable to play. and Rafael Martins. On a cold and rainy evening at the National Stadium, which nevertheless held a few thousand supporters, especially FC Porto, the “dragons” were more dangerous in the first moments of the game, but without causing any major shocks.
Ricardo Batista’s attention was tested with shots from distance, but FC Porto’s biggest chance came through the speed of Gabriel Veron, who already shot into the side netting in an attempt, in the 12th minute, before Casa Pia had some transitional attackers attempted. After a corner kick, Fernando Varela’s header didn’t go in the best direction, in the best chance for the Lisbon side in the first half, ahead of a forced substitution in Filipe Martins’ team, with Yan Eteki replacing the injured Neto, on 22 .
The Porto players struggled to push through Casa Pia’s cohesive block, which, without a low block, managed to close the paths of its goal well and look for counter-attacks, but the exclusion of Lucas Soares, at 45+1, the face of the gathering changed. Already with a yellow card, in the 33rd minute, a harder tackle on Galeno put Lucas Soares out of the game and at the restart the two teams changed their strategy: João Nunes came in through Casa Pia’s right-back, who was left behind playing without Clayton, a natural striker, while Pepê replaced Uribe, looking for more speed up front.
In numerical superiority, FC Porto’s dominance in the second half was absolute, but without discovering the goal, with the first attempts of the chiefs of Galeno and Taremi, on 57 and 61 respectively, both a few centimeters from the other goal. Casa Pia tried to survive as long as possible with the goalless score, without neglecting quick exits, first with Godwin and then with Antoine, always very alone in attack, and FC Porto settled completely in the vicinity of the opponent.
The newcomer Toni Martínez was the protagonist of the most sovereign chance of the entire match, but it was worth a huge save from Ricardo Batista, who stopped with his leg the shot, which bore the “seal” of the goal, at the entrance of the small area, in a choking phase.
The pupils of Sérgio Conceição were looking for the winning goal in every possible way, but always encountered the immense defensive solidarity of the Casa Pia players, who managed to endure a draw with enormous sacrifice until the end of the game.
Source: DN
