Sporting CP 1 Famalicão 0

Sporting CP v Famalicão 

Sunday August 27th, 2023
Estádio José Alvalade 
Matchday 3

The Warm Up

Sporting welcome visitors Famalicão for tonight's second home game of the season. Amorim in his pre-match press conference labelled them as the Portuguese Brighton. So given the English Famalicão had their arses handed to them by West Ham last night, fingers crossed we repeat the result in front of what's expected to be a sellout crowd. You imagine the opposition owners would love any comparisons to be true given the south coast side have become the feeder club for Chelsea in the past two seasons with their coffers swelled the tune of £200m plus. A win tonight will see Sporting once again level on 9 points at the top of the table with Vitória SC this season's early surprise package.

Despite my personal misgivings Gyökeres and Paulinho start again as part of a forward three with Gonçalves pushed forward from midfield. Hjulmand makes his full league debut and should provide more defensive cover in the heart of the midfield. Edwards the man to drop to the bench as unusually Amorim makes only the one change from the starting XI who won away to Casa Pia last round. St Juste remains sidelined through injury. New signing Fresneda is set to watch the game from the stands having joined too late to form part of the matchday squad. As with the signing of Gyökeres, Sporting we are told have beaten several premier League sides to the signature of the highly rated youngster. It's believed Pedro Porro advised the young Spaniard on the move. If he proves as much a success as Porro did during his time as a lion then the future looks bright once more on the right flank. What this means for Geny remains to be seen after his promising start to the season. You imagine if Edwards was to depart to Saudi Arabia before the close of the transfer window he could easily drop the defensive requirements of the game and play in a front three.

Jovane has departed on loan to Serie A Salernitana for the season. Fatawu is set to sign for newly relegated Leicester City. Tanlongo had been rumoured to be going as part of the Fresneda deal to Valladolid but that's now off the cards but a move away from Portugal is still the most likely option for the youngster in the last days of the transfer window. The contract extension signed by Inácio has quelled any talk of his departure this summer. Diomande is set to be offered a renewal on better terms following his fine start in a Sporting shirt with potential suitors from all around Europe keeping an eye on the 19 year old Ivorian.

Ahead of kick off let's hope for a repeat in entertainment terms of the Vizela game. Last week's away win was somewhat of a damp squid. However we'll need to cut out the mistakes at the back that have seen the defence concede three poor goals in the opening two games. In truth other than the mistakes which have lead to taken opportunities Adán has rarely had anything to do between the sticks.

The money markets

Sporting start 2/9 and Famalicão a massive 11/1 chance for the win.

Sporting despite being the home side opting to wear the black and gold change kit. Apparently its in homage to their most famous son Ronaldo. I find it all quite sycophantic if I'm honest and it leaves me somewhat bemused. National side coach Roberto Martinez is in attendance which is rare given previous managers aversions to picking any Sporting players at international level. Must be someone in the Famalicão ranks he's got his eye on.

First Half

Pelo meu belted out as Sporting start on the attack under pink skies with the sun setting on Lisboa. There can't be many better spectacles to start a game. Let's hope the quality of the football matches.

10 Famalicão look well drilled. Sat defending deep in a 5-3-2 formation. Sporting will need to up the quality of their final ball in and around the 18 yard box. Morita has looked lively in the opening ten having not really been on my radar at all in the opening two games of the season.

14 #20 Sa fires well wide from range with the games opening shot. It's the first time the visitors have been anywhere near the Sporting 18 yard box as the clock flicks over to 15 minutes played. He'd be a good option for a players name on the back of your shirt if you were tight with your euros

18 Throw into the box finds Gyökeres. His shot deflects. Not sure if a defender or Paulinho got the final touch as the keeper deflects the ball out for a corner. Looks like it was #32 Aguirregabiria. He's got his keeper to thank there. Fuck me you'd need deep pockets and broad shoulders to have his name on the back of your shirt.

22 Yellow to Gyökeres for an off the ball incident. The player goes down clutching his face but replays suggest he's barely been touched. He's made a fucking meal out of that one. Post treatment funnily enough he shows no signs of having been hurt and is roundly whistled by the Sportinguista’s. What's the point of VAR?

25 Sporting break with Gyökeres and Paulinho. Awful ball across into the box. The type you'd expect when the first attacker wants to get in a better position and doesn't want his main rival in the goals chart to be able to score. Cynical? Me? Maybe. To be fair it looked offside in the build up anyway.

28 How have Sporting not scored there? Paulinho cut ball across the six yard box but no one is there to attack the ball. It goes all the way through to Esgaio who shoots from a ridiculously tight angle and the resulting save cannons up back into the six yard box and Paulinho misses it totally.

30 Yellow for Riccieli for leaving his arm in on Gyökeres. He shakes his head clearly disagreeing with the card brandished. Leveller for the Swedes booking minutes earlier. If you book one you can't let the other go but neither on truth looked worthy of a booking. Imagine the fourth official had a word in his ear about the first.

36 Double save first from Gyökeres then Gonçalves. Neither really troubling the keeper but finally an effort on target.

38 Gyökeres ghosts past two defenders. Tries to dance in between another two but one of them just nicks the ball away.

39 Paulinho directs a header from corner goal bound but easily caught

40 Riccieli down having taken a bang to the face from Gyökeres. He's got to watch himself having already been booked.

42 #29 Cadiz goes down in the box like a sack of shit. Yard offside anyway which is lucky because I'd have booked him for simulation.

45 Coates goes into the book presumably for spiking the ball into the ground in anger.

Plus three shown. Half time can't come soon enough for the referee who's had a busy last five minutes.

+2 Gyökeres swivels and hits a shot on the turn from 16 yards but always going high and wide

You wouldn't want to be the referee getting out the ground on full time if Sporting fail to win this game. He leaves the pitch to a deafening chorus of whistles.

Half time

Sporting CP 0 Famalicão 0

Esgaio needs to be replaced by either Geny or Edwards. Watching him trying to cross is as painful as masturbating with sand. Either player will give that quick turn of pace that can unlock a defence and unlike Esgaio they can actually find another Sporting player with a pass. Famalicão will be thinking at the minimum a point is ours for the taking here based on how well they've defended in the first half. Theirs is a lock which needs a key and based on the opening 45 no one looks capable of unlocking it. Even Trincão coming through the centre is a better option. You never know this might be his one in ten when he scores. These are the games come the end of the season you need to have won if you want to be crowned champions. The really successful teams will find a way. Will that be us tonight? Only time will tell but not on the showing of the first half. I can also see this not finishing 11 Vs 11.

13/5 the draw at the start of the second half. On the first half showing and with no immediate substitutions made that might be the better bet. Bookies still give Sporting a 71.42% chance of victory. The visitors just 6.66%. You know I'm bored when the first half chat is names on shirts and prior to the restart I've gone onto statistical probabilities.

Sporting players are stood with the match officials on the pitch but no sign of the visitors having waited a good two to three minutes. Clearly their half time team talk took no longer than Sir Alex Ferguson's infamous 'lads it's Tottenham' one.

Second half

46 Arses twitching as Sporting instantly on the back foot. The one good thing is if Famalicão have been told to attack then space will open in the second half.

47 Hjulmand barged to the ground in the D on the edge of the 18 yard box. Referee thought about it long and hard before finally blowing his whistle.

48 Fuck! Gonçalves leaves the keeper all ends up as his effort bends round the wall and smacks the bar. He's clearly been practicing this summer because that's the second decent free kick I've seen him take in recent weeks.

50 Acres of space now in the second half for Sporting to attack into. Gyökeres wins a free kick on the edge of the 18 yard box on the right flank. Famalicão have gone from a back line 15 yards deep to Sporting-Esque levels on the half way line

51 GOAL Wrong option from the visitors to go on the attack chasing three points as Paulinho heads Sporting into the lead. Coates won the initial header from a free kick into the box and found the in form striker who hits the net from three yards and celebrates with the trademark finger point to the head. That in truth was not of Sporting's making but of Famalicão's undoing all their good work. Rope a dope Ali style. "Is that all you got George they told me you could punch." Sporting CP 1 Famalicão 0

56 I guess the good news is now Famalicão have to at some point press for an equaliser leaving even more space behind. Let's hope the substitutes are warming up to replace Esgaio on the right

59 Nuno Santos who to be fair hasn't had the best game either on the left is replaced by Geny. Oh shit, son can play on the left too? He's going to be my new Jovane and in three years time I'll be the lone voice going "he'll make it somewhere… he's really talented" as his career has stalled worse than a petrol engine being driven by a 17 year old learner driver.

61 #28 Youssouf with free kick straight into arms of Adán.

63 Morita flattened by Youssouf who seems to be taking his frustration out at being told to get up by the referee a minute ago. Free kick to Sporting.

64 Gyökeres hits a low pile driver which takes the keeper by surprise. You wouldn't have wanted to be the draught excluder with the power in that shot had their been one. To be fair had their been one he'd not have hit it low so apologies for that wonderfully contradictory statement there.

65 Esgaio departs…for Reis. Is Amorim fucking gas lighting me? Maybe him and Geny will swap sides?

67 Gyökeres doing his best Nuno Santos impression as he gallops down the left flank and cuts into the box. There's contact but not enough for a penalty according to the referee

67 Yellow for another hand in the face. Fucking silly season out there tonight. Topic the man booked there. Very erm… topical

68 Geny flattened in the same spot Gyökeres was for the goal. Made by the turn of pace I've been banging on about since before the restart. From the resulting free kick the ball strikes hand of Youssouf. His hand looked high to me, hardly a natural position. VAR checking. We're off to the monitor… usually means only one thing. Oh two handballs in the same move by the looks of it. He's got to give one … no. WTAF. Seriously WTAF. What was he watching there having been told to check it? Second time I've seen that happen to Sporting recently. Maybe the other was in pre-season. If it's not a penalty don't fucking call the referee over to the monitor to look at it, just tell him continue on. All these additional minutes we are seeing at the end of games aren't coming down to players but match officials. Bit more TV time to wank over when they watch themselves back later

83 Paulinho on for Trincão and Hjulmand for Bragança

84 Bragança shoots from outside area and his shot is deflected and tipped round post for a corner. That would have been the mother of inspired substitutions had that gone in.

88 Can't help but worry we've not scored a second in this game. Got to be at least six minutes to add on with substitutions and the VAR review.

Eight minutes shown. Well I said at least six so partially correct. Do they teach kids how to whistle in Portuguese schools because as a nation they seem incredibly adept at it?

91 Morita yellow. No complaints there as he brings down his man on the half way line. Great close up shot of a bespectacled man in the crowd with a look of utter bemusement on his face and hand on head as if to say where the fuck has he got eight minutes from?

93 Paulinho now in his black training top claps from the sidelines. You can see him being a coach one day, he certainly looks the part. Geny continues to cause problems at the back. He squares it back to Gonçalves whose low shot from ten yards is saved. Needed to aim for either corner there. 

96 Superb double tackle from the skipper out on the right hand side. He'll be glad he did because with his pace it was taking him a week to get back into position in the centre

Full time

Sporting CP 1 Famalicão 0

The Final Word

The referee can at least leave the stadium with his legs still intact. In truth those three points owed more to Famalicão throwing out the baby with the kitchen sink and thinking they could go for the win. Paulinho announced as man of the match on the Tannoy. In truth for me it was a toss up between Morita and Diomande. I could make arguments for both. Morita certainly had a huge influence in the centre of the park. Diomande barely put a foot wrong all game. I might have to sleep on that one. Clearly I'll never make a sports reporter given they need to file copy pretty much on the final whistle.

Having slept on it I'm still none the wiser but I'd say Morita had the greater overall impact on the game so he gets my man of the match. If someone could let him know.

Onwards we go to Braga away with our 100% record intact.