SK Sturm Graz 1 Sporting CP 2

SK Sturm Graz v Sporting CP 
Thursday September 21^st, 2023
Merkur Arena
Europa League Matchday 1

The Warm Up

The European dream begins again in earnest and I surely cannot be the only Sportinguista who’s still trying to work out how we contrived to basically cost ourselves a prolonged run in last season’s Champions League. Well let’s maybe close that chapter and put the book on the shelf and reach for that now marked Europa League. Chapter one – Sturm Graz away. The Austrian side currently sits second after seven games and are undefeated with five wins and two draws. Despite my claims after Sunday’s win that we’ll be top of the table for a while, Boavista pissed on my chips to leapfrog us on goal difference. Note to self – maybe don’t mention it again. Anyway back to the opposition. This will be their first foray in European competition against a Portuguese club. This isn’t however their first game in Europe this season having played PSV in the Champions League qualifiers which finished with an aggregate score in defeat of 7-2. That’s not to suggest this game will be a walk in the park. Sporting have not always faired well against Austrian opposition having comprehensively been beaten twice in recent years by Lask. In fact in 13 previous games they’ve mustered 6 wins in total none of which have come on Austrian soil. That being said goalkeeper Scherpen on loan from Premier League Brighton does look like he can be got at if he starts and both Gyökeres and Paulinho will no doubt be itching to add to their seasons goal tally. St Juste hasn’t travelled with the squad as he continues to regain his fitness, otherwise Amorim has a full squad to select his starting XI from.

The money markets

The bookmakers have Sturm 13/5 and a Sporting win a coin toss at 19/20.

Team News

Starting XI announced and the Tinker man is back. Esgaio makes way for Geny on the right and Nuno Santos for Reis on the left. Bragança in for Morita in midfield even if my football app has him left of a front three and Paulinho in the centre of midfield. That would be bold and a Pep Guardiola type move. Presumably Paulinho swaps with Gonçalves and not Morita and lastly Trincão in for Edwards.

First Half

A solemn looking set of players line up for the Europa League anthem as if it’s dawning on them this isn’t the Champions League. Interestingly BT also have Paulinho lining up in midfield with Bragança wide left of the front three. Surely not.

Pyrotechnics smoke fills the pitch as the game gets underway. You can pretty much see the grand sum of fuck and all.

2 Reis fouled conceding a free kick in a good position on the left. Bragança floats it in and finds Coates unmarked but his header is wide of the right post. Disappointing from the skipper.

4 Kiteishivilli header unmarked from 7 yards saved low by Adán and pushed out for a corner

10 Few wayward passes from both sides in the opening ten. Those players will be wishing the smoke was still filling the pitch

15 Hjulmand with an ambitious attempt from 25 yards which doesn’t even warrant an action replay. Struck like a man who knows I’ve got him to score anytime at 10/1.

17 Kiteishivilli plays the game of anything you can do I can do better as he shanks one into the stand from a similar distance to the Danes miss a couple of minutes ago

22 Sarkaria cops one in the midriff from Inácio. The Portuguese Harry Maguire makes a ball shape to the referee. If he connected with a ball – it wasn’t that one

26 Gyökeres fouled a couple of yards outside the 18 yard box on the right roughly level with the six yard box. Poor delivery easily picked off by the keeper. Sums up the quality of the game so far nicely

31 Gyökeres has been fouled three times in five minutes.  Once on the edge of the 18 yard box, once in the centre circle and now touch tight to the left wing. That boy gets everywhere.

36 Foul on Trincão in the Sporting half. I forgot he was playing.

37 Boving fires wide from 20 yards

38 Foul by Trincão as if to remind me yes I am playing having taken 36 minutes to register he’s on the field

40 Reis cross from left finds Paulinho who heads over from 7 yards. Better from Sporting

44 Gazibegovic picks up the nights first yellow for a foul on Gyökeres

Half time

Sturm Graz 0 Sporting CP 0

Given the choice of watching that first half again or the one from Casa Pia away I’d choose to stab sharpened pencils into both eyes. Reis has done well on the left. Diomande and Coates have marshalled the defence well enough with Gyökeres causing his usual level of nuisance. I think in truth their manager will go in the happier of the two even if he does look like a little like Andrew Tate. Mind you I must have been engrossed enough to not realise my smokes and lighter were being turned to a pulp outside in the rain. Sad times all round.

Second half

45 Dancing feet from Geny as he Cary Grant’s his way into the box. Sadly his shot didn’t marry the skill as he fires over. To be fair to the youngster the pitch looks like it’s been tended to by a tractor not the grounds staff.

46 Trincão header saved from point blank range. Excellent save from the Brighton loanee. Sporting clearly have had the riot act read to them at half time. More in 90 seconds than in 45 first half minutes.

57 GOAL Thunderous strike from Kiteishivilli 30 yards out beat Adán all ends up before rebounding off the post to Boving who slots home to make it Sturm Graz 1 Sporting CP 0

58 Paulinho turns and volleys inside the box. Keeper saves and pushes out for a corner. That lead nearly didn’t last long.

61 Trincão jogs off to be replaced by Gonçalves. Reis for Nuno Santos. Shame for the Brazilian because he’s played well but doesn’t bring the same level of threat from the left. Apart from the header Trincão has been a ghost this game. Lack of fitness, confidence, generally just giving a shit?

66 SG Keeper grins like a Cheshire cat and well he might after a double save. Paulinho with the first effort, Inácio with the follow up header straight at the keeper. That really should be 1-1. He looks a totally different keeper to that beaten seven times in two legs by PSV.

73 GOAL Morita and Edwards set to come on. Actually there are three in white shirts stood waiting to come on… goal Sporting. Gyökeres forces it home. Sturm Graz 1 Sporting CP 1. That’s a poachers goal if ever there was one. Gonçalves with a beautiful first touch to beat his marker fired in a volley saved by the keeper. The Swede was there to throw himself in at the far post to equalise from the rebound.

77 Fresneda was the third waiting to come on. Geny, Bragança and Hjulmand the players to make way.

83 GOAL Diomande makes it 2 in 2. Cruyff turn on the edge of the 18 yard box. Fired hard and low and the keeper was unable to deal with it. I said pre game he looked fallible in goal although to be fair I also contradicted that a few minutes ago. The commentator made nothing of Gonçalves’ touch in the first or Diomande’s for the second. Miserable cunt. Did it deflect off Coates? Hmmm he ran to celebrate with the youngster so maybe not. Anyways Sturm Graz 1 Sporting CP 2

87 Oh that shot was too close for comfort from SG. Horvat with a 25 yard effort just goes over top of Adán’s bar top right

89 Yellow to Affengruber. Threw Gyökeres to the ground in the corner. Clearly he watches too much WWE in his spare time.

Plus five shown

+4 Paulinho yellow for throwing the ball away. No need. That’ll come back to bite us at some point in qualifying. 

Full time

Sturm Graz 1 Sporting CP 2

The Final Word 

A rather despondent Dante sits on the ground. He played well tonight and it was his trickery which lead to the opener. It wouldn’t surprise me if he turns up at a bigger club in Europe at some point. In summarisation the second half was much more entertaining than the first though to be fair that wasn’t hard. Maybe a draw would have been a fairer result but Sporting finally pop their Austrian cherry. Great individual skill in all three goals. Somewhere in the world their agents are clipping up all three ready for use in their clients highlight reels.

I know he got taken off after 61 minutes but I’m going to give Reis my man of the match. Apart from one misplaced pass I can’t remember him really putting a foot wrong. I could just as easily given it to Diomande. I feel sorry for St Juste battling to regain fitness, it’s going to take a lot to shift the young defender from the starting lineup on his current form. Still next season he’ll be fine cause someone will trigger his release clause in the summer. FC Midtjylland really must be wondering why they let him go. Clearly £7.5 million seemed a good offer at the time. Having already turned down £30 million from Arsenal it’s not looking so good now.

In the other opening game Atalanta finished 2-0 winners against Raków. The Italian club will be up next at home for the lions.