Sporting attributes Benfica’s first defeat of the season in women’s football

Last Sunday’s goal, scored by Maiara Niehues, gave Sporting victory over Benfica (1-0), in a match for the 17th round of the women’s national championship, ending the invincibility of the ‘reds’ this season.

With this result, Sporting, which shares second place with Sporting de Braga, approaches with 39 points, Benfica, which leads the competition, with 48.

In front of 27,221 spectators, a new attendance record in women’s football, Sporting engaged in a form of struggle, succeeding in negating the attacking actions of Benfica, who only reached Hannah Seabert’s goal with deep shots, who took advantage of the speed by Jéssica Silva or by Cloé Lacasse, but without success in the first part.

Incidentally, it was Chandra Davidson who put Benfica’s defense on target in the 20th minute, when he forced goalkeeper Rute Costa to a corner with a curled shot.

Therefore, the half-time clean sheet rewarded Sporting on the one hand for their defensive abilities and on the other exposed Benfica’s difficulties in linking the game to attacking actions, strongly feeling the absence of Pauleta, injured, who took on that role.

In the second half, the two-time national champions came in, determined to resolve the game quickly and just after 47 minutes, Andreia Norton tried her luck ‘from the middle of the street’, but the ball ended up in the hands of Hannah Seabert, goalkeeper who saved Cloé Lacasse after a free kick after 54 minutes.

This duo would be in play again in the 62nd minute, when Jéssica Silva, on the right, went for the Canadian’s head, while the American goalkeeper made the save just short of the goal line.

However, with the team fully balanced forward, Benfica were surprised in the 63rd minute, when Brazil’s Maiara Niehues, in a counter-attack, appeared on the right and with a cross shot from Ana Capeta’s pass beat Rute Costa and made her debut to score in Portugal.

The ticking of the clock so reassured the incarnates that in the 85th minute Cloé Lacasse, with only Seabert up front, couldn’t equalise, and the same thing happened again in the 88th minute. .