S.C. Braga 1 Sporting CP 1
S.C. Braga v Sporting CP
Sunday September 3rd, 2023
Estádio Municipal de Braga
Matchday 4
The Warm Up
Game four of the season sees an away fixture that’s somewhere between a rock and a hard place, yes it’s Braga away time again. Get it, rock and a hard… oh never mind. Last season’s opener between the two sides was a chaotic fixture with Sporting taking the lead three times only to be pegged back each time to finish the game 3 a piece. Braga would of course eventually pip Sporting for the final champions league place. Their reward? Trips to Napoli, Real Madrid and Union Berlin. That’s pretty much their European campaign fucked then. The Lions European opponents have been confirmed as Atalanta, Raków and Sturm Graz. The Serie A side from Bergamo will most likely cause the biggest test on paper. SG currently occupy second in the Austrian Bundesliga. Raków are 11th after four games at the time of writing.
The transfer window is now shut in Europe with only the Saudi window remaining open. Mateus Fernandes has departed on loan to Estoril, Tanlongo has rocked up in Copenhagen and Fatawu in Leicester. Camacho and Henrique have both been given squad numbers after failing to secure moves away during the window. Camacho is believed to be close to terminating his contract with the club and it should be noted that he is reportedly one of the our highest earners which might come as surprising news to some.
Unprecedented scenes at the ticket office
during the week resulted in the police having to be called as many fans were
left disappointed at the away allocation having been sold out.
The money markets
12/5 Braga 21/20 Sporting ahead of kick off.
Braga only lost twice at home last season conceding 11 in total although 27.27%
of those goals were scored by Sporting. Not sure I’d have Braga that long for
the win but they are coming off the back of a trip to Panathinaikos on Tuesday
in a champions League qualifier whilst Sporting have had their feet up bar
training for the week. This will only be their third league game of the season
having not played last weekend one assumes in an attempt by the Portuguese league
to keep their European coefficient up. 5/2 the draw - I’ll throw that in after
last seasons 3-3. I should remind myself that Sporting having won three on the
spin are the only club with a 100% record before kick off. Porto missed a
penalty in the 15th minute of additional time, however they then
equalised in the 20th minute. Yes that’s not a typo that’s just
Portuguese referees favouring Porto once more as they did to keep playing until
they scored twice last time out. Anyway that point takes them level with
Boavista on 10 so a win tonight will take the lions two points clear at the top
of the table. Mind you I should also throw in that we beat Sporting Braga 5-0
twice last season at home. I can’t lie I don’t really remember the league win
at all. However the cup win was as one sided a match as I’ve seen in many a
year so maybe 12/5 is more accurate than I’d have you believe. This is Sparta
goes the cry of the warrior army – yeah but this is Sporting goes me getting my
excuses in early doors.
Team News
What about the starting line up you cry. How many changes? None. Not one. Has Amorim ever started the same XI two league games on the spin? I’m not sure but if he has it can’t have been many times that is for certain.
The money markets part 2
Oh the markets moved to 9/4 and 11/10. No now 23/10 Braga … someone’s having a late punt on the home side or maybe away…
First Half
2 Paulinho goes down clutching his face in the box. VAR are reviewing the incident. Game restarts finally after the best part of a two minute stoppage for treatment. Unsurprisingly he doesn’t look any worse for wear as the camera zooms in on him.
5 Cameraman provides a close up of the back of Nuno Santos’ head. That won’t please him. That hair loss is getting really bad back there. Sorry that’s incredibly sexist of me. Camera operator, could be a woman. Point stands about the monk like dome appearing on Nuno’s head though.
10 Still no shots registered for either side. I’ve got José Fonte baby to the tune of the Human League’s – Don’t you want me stuck in my head. How is he still playing? Everyone said he was done when he left West Ham five seasons ago. 40 in December apparently and still looks a decade younger than our own Neto
12 Horta with a rasping drive from 28 yards out. Adán stood centrally helped it over the bar and out for a corner
13 Shout from Braga against Diomande for a penalty. VAR reviews but quickly decides correctly that nothing in the challenge which saw the Braga player go down in the box.
16 Neto was only 35 in May. Really? I’m ten years older and I look younger than he does. Well in my mind at least. I don’t think anyone will ever let me do the official minute by minute of a game. Tour de France one maybe with hours to fill.
18 Handbags at ten paces between Pizzi and Diomande with the former pushing the youngster to the floor. He sits on his haunches and laughs at the Braga forward. Referee threatens him with a time out on the naughty step. Something like that anyway.
23 Esgaio with no one around him misses a pass from no more than eight yards. I said it last week and I’ll say it again Amorim is gas lighting us with his continual selection.
24 GOAL In my small town all you’ll
have heard is me shouting fucking get in! Very, very fucking loudly. Diomande
plays a clever delicate ball into Gonçalves on the edge of the box. Choosing
not to control it he turns his body and let’s the ball run past him before
smashing it into the top right hand corner from 13 yards. Somewhere in the
crowd his mum is beaming and who can blame her. He likes scoring against
Sporting Braga. I’d like to know what the defender was doing. He just kept
going backwards as if fearful actually waving his foot at the ball might prove
of some benefit. Braga 0 Sporting CP 1
26 Gyökeres yellow for a foul on Niakaté. Can’t have any real complaints there. Come the end of the season you imagine as a collective defenders will say the Swede was the toughest player they’ve come up against. He doesn’t give you a moments piece and gives as good as he gets
29 Shot from eight yards at a tight angle from Bruma is still rising and will land in someone’s garden in roughly ten minutes time given how hard and high he struck that ball. He’d be OK with a shit shot like that the other end, it would have just ricocheted off the fucking great lump of rock behind the goal. Rock and a hard place joke from the opening paragraph… no? Still just me?
33 Morita having been taken out by a stray elbow not sixty seconds before which went unpunished gets a yellow for a late stamp on Ruiz.
34 Is that Neymar on the pitch? Referee unmoved as whoever from Braga felt they were challenged unfairly then rolled and rolled and rolled like he’d been tripped from the top of one of the famous high sided Braga stands that sit either side of the pitch.
37 GOAL I don’t know what sound left my mouth or
how to write it down as Hjulmand pinged one in from 23 yards but it was an
excitable one nevertheless. Braga keeper is claiming two Sporting players
obstructing his view in an offside position. Referee goes to the monitor and
disallows the goal. Amorim booked for his protests. Sadly keeper had a point.
Someone owes their new teammate an apology at half time. I can however spell
the words that came out of my mouth when the goal was disallowed one of which
started with an f.
40 Amorim shown a yellow
Plus five indicated additional time
+4 Yellow shown to Niakaté. Presumably for something he said. Referee jogs to the touchline to book the Braga coach Artur Jorge … presumably for something he said too.
Half time whistle blows and is immediately accentuated by the Braga fans who whistle their discontent at the referee. Getting that feeling of Déjà vu from the last game against Famalicão because the last five minutes of that before half time had turned into a circus and the referee there also walked off to a chorus of whistles from the home fans.
Half time
S.C. Braga 0 Sporting CP 1
Pre-season I made sure to give Esgaio his dues when he was for that one half by far the best player on the pitch. However once again he offers no attacking threat on the right. Diomande looks like he’s playing in slippers he’s that comfortable behind so why not start Geny who can use his pace and get the ball into the danger areas consistently? That pass Esgaio missed midway through the first half was frankly embarrassing especially given he and the man in front were wide open. Interestingly Edwards is on the pitch warming up at half time. Whether that’s an indication he’s about to come on we’ll see. Paulinho has been totally ineffective against his former employers.
Amorim is sat on the bench with the Englishman and he’s gesticulating at a tactics board. I’m assuming that yes a change is about to happen.
Second half
➡️⬅️ Edwards on for Paulinho. I’m going to be that broken record all season every time him and Gyökeres start. They can’t play together. I can see Edwards and Gyökeres making space for each other this half and having a better understanding but I might be completely wrong there too. Frequently am about a lot of things.
48 Half chance to Pizzi. All came from a miss kick out of play from Adán. Ball came back into the box and ricocheted off Coates to Pizzi who hit it over from three yards. Comedy of errors we’ve seen from Sporting and yet no one other than Pizzi was laughing.
51 Braga are obviously alert to the danger at the back caused by Edwards and Gyökeres as their back four sit on the edge of the 18 yard box and the midfield three have squeezed back in a pincer movement to close down the space. I’m going eight minutes until Nuno Santos gets shanked for … Reis.
55 ➡️⬅️Banza for Pizzi. I like this kid. He really impressed me in this fixture last time out and he was the only player I can remember putting in a shift in the reverse fixture. That might also have been in the cup not the league. Either way I’d not have been disappointed if he turned up in a Sporting shirt prior to signing Gyökeres.
56 Keeper rushes out to save at the feet of Gyökeres. There’s that benefit of being a goal up as we saw last game when sides have to push forward for an equaliser just leaving that space for our attackers to run into
57 Morita lofts ball to the far post but Esgaio was always stretching as his shot is easily saved from a narrow tight angle.
59 ➡️⬅️ Nuno shanked for… Geny. Bragança on for Hjulmand …Can set your watch by Amorim’s substitution schedule. Right time, wrong player. Half right though. Right enough if you wanted to plan a hit on someone for where they’ll be at a given minute
63 Gyökeres twists, turns, tries step overs, using his body strength… Fonte just stands still and then takes the ball off him. That’s what experience brings at 39. Don’t work hard, work smart.
66 You have to imagine in training they put Coates on the same team as Geny and Gyökeres because those two are rapid in flight. Edwards too. You wouldn’t want to be a Braga defender second half if you’ve stepped up and a ball gets knocked into space behind. All this being said I have a horrible feeling Braga are going to find an equaliser soon as they continue to press for one. Sporting two points clear at the top of the table for now at least. I’m not trying to jinx it I just want to write it at least once this season
70 Trincão comes on for .. no one. Braga made a double substitution and Trincão is still stood on the sides. I’m perplexed.
71 ➡️ ⬅️ Now he comes on for Gonçalves. That was just bizarre.
77 GOAL This game has disintegrated into one of niggly fouls and misplaced passes… Fuck me – free kick given away on the edge of the box pinged onto the top right hand corner by Djalo. Said it that Braga looked more likely to equalise. That was hit like a fucking rocket from 25 yards. Not much Adán could do about that in fairness. There’s me saying the games lost its quality and it brings with it the best moment of quality so far. Have I mentioned I fucking hate Braga? Braga 1 Sporting CP 1
82 Carvalho booked for a foul on Bragança. That didn’t look great in slow motion it has to be said as he stepped on his ankle. I don’t think there was any malice there just a mistimed challenge.
84 Esgaio makes way for the new boy Fresneda
84 Quality of the free kick at the other end wasn’t mirrored. Not sure who struck it but it was high, wide and disappointing… ah Trincão, should have guessed really
86 Red card shown to one of the staff members on the sidelines. Not sure who and from which side. He nonchalantly slopes off whoever he was.
89 Inácio yellow as he flattens his man on the half way line. Gonçalves yellow on the sidelines. He mockingly applauds the referee as he goes and sits back on the bench. You know you’re doing well when you’re booked having already been subbed off.
Seven minutes shown
+1 Djalo throws himself into the box. He should get booked for simulation there that was frankly fucking embarrassing. Braga’s coach Artur Jorge is shown a second yellow and sent to the stands. As I said all quality has gone from this game. However I don’t think it’s going to finish 1-1
+4 Diomande yellow for a foul on the player running into him. What the fuck referee?
+7 Corner to Sporting and it’s now or never gentlemen. That’ll be never then as the keeper claims. Referee blows for full time. Well that was fucking anticlimactic. Fuck off Braga.
Full time
S.C. Braga 1 Sporting CP 1
The Final Word
Man of the match – Diomande. As previously mentioned he looks like he’s playing his slippers. Shows a calm maturity way beyond his years. If someone buys Inácio and Diomande continues to fly under the radar I’d be more than satisfied. Reminds me a lot of Mathieu.
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