CD Olivais e Moscavide 1 Sporting CP 3 (Taça de Portugal R3)
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The Warm Up
‘Clube Desportivo dos Olivais e Moscavide’ imagine trying to fit that into a football chant in full. I won’t pretend to know anything about tonight’s cup opposition other than what I’ve found on the web, which is to say not a lot. A dérbi of sorts given the club is based in Lisbon, it on paper looks a one-sided affair with an obvious outcome but cup football always brings with it the potential of an upset no matter the size of the opposition. Lower league players raise their games thrilled at their fifteen minutes of fame, weakened oppositions are fielded…let’s throw in a I about it being a potential banana skin for good measure. Did I get them all? Like Pokémon for footballing clichés.
All in all I’m just happy that the second international break of the season is over. It’s been a turbulent week for Gyökeres especially; a wonder goal against Belgium will most likely be wiped from the history books as the qualifier between Belgium Vs Sweden was abandoned at half time following news of the tragic shooting of two Swedish fans in the city prior to kick off. My thoughts of course go out to the victim’s families.
This game it must be said reminds me of being a kid. 45 minutes to kick off and I have no idea of the starting XI. As a small fat lad I followed a club in the lower league’s of English football which was a six hour round trip away and if you weren’t there in person you had to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday before you knew who was in the team that played. Forget not just knowing before kick off. Kids don’t know they’re born nowadays.
The money markets
I might not yet know the starting lineup, but what I do know are the pre match odds and they’re 40/1 and 1/66. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a wide a market without a ball even being kicked in anger.
Team News
Ah ha, finally the team news with half hour to go. In goal Israel replaces Adán. Fresneda starts his second game on the right hoping for a better performance than the one against Atalanta. The pirate Neto comes into the back three with the return of the fit again Jerry St Juste. I’m well and truly made up for him to be back on the pitch playing. Finally out from the wilderness comes Sporting’s youngest ever starter Essugo. Reis, Bragança, Gonçalves, Edwards, Trincão and Paulinho make up the remainder of the XI. No place for Morita in the squad as he suffered a knock on international duty. Amorim names an incredibly strong ‘get out of jail free card’ bench just in case the odds of 1/66 are a complete fallacy. Substitutes are; Adán, Coates, Gyökeres, Nuno Santos, Geny, Inácio, Hjulmand, Esgaio and the youngster Quaresma. Oh after thought – Diomande presumably is suspended for that sending off which was never a fucking sending off. I’m still pissed on his behalf quite frankly.
First Half
2 Corner to the home side. Comes to nothing but an indication they’re not just here to make up the numbers.
3 Paulinho squares for Edwards who knocks the ball over from six yards out and gets clattered by the onrushing keeper to add to his woes. That really should have been 1-0 with Sporting’s first attack.
5 Referee has blown up with a player down in the box. He’s clattered into Fresneda from behind and injured himself in the process. Also looked offside in the build up. I’m assuming he’s not awarded a penalty when he blew his whistle. No wait he has wtf. Is there VAR tonight? I assume not. Well I said they’d not come to make up the numbers.
7 GOAL Frabricio buries it into the bottom left hand corner to make it Olivais e Moscavide 1 Sporting CP 0. Well that’s well and truly just pissed on my chips.
11 Fresneda goes down clutching his face. He’s made a meal of that. Nothing more than a hand on the mouth. Free kick comes to nothing. Justice and karma served there. I don’t want to see play acting from opposition players and I really don’t want to see it from our own.
13 Sweeper keeper As Rúben rushes out to the corner flag to make a challenge. Perhaps he thinks Pep is watching in Manchester.
14 Booking for Gonçalves following a challenge by … Reis. You what? I take it that it was for something he’s said to the referee.
15 Paulinho with the first shot on target for Sporting. Downward header that a four year old could have caught.
19 Gonçalves smashes a curled effort across the bar from the left edge of the 18 yard box. How is it his mum always looks so happy and he always looks so fucking miserable? Well I guess we only see his mum when he’s scored but still, point stands.
20 The play acting from the home players is not going down well with some of the Sporting fans in attendance as you’d imagine. Slight contact from St Juste yet you’d think he had the back of his calf slashed with a knife as he’s gone down there. I’d tell you who went down if he wasn’t rolling around obscuring his shirt number. I was just watching the replay of the penalty incident. First view was inconclusive and the one that would settle it in slow motion from behind was covered with a betting advert for Betclic. I’m sorry but you really couldn’t fucking make this shit up could you? Fuck me.
22 Trincão fires low from the edge of the box. Decent effort but never really going to trouble the keeper.
25 Paulinho sends a good message to any NFL scouts in attendance as he rockets one well over the bar from 20 yards for a field goal. Given the stand behind is empty they’ll find that missing ball about 11pm.
28 Gonçalves fires a ball into the corridor of uncertainty but it’s palmed away by the diving keeper. You feel an equaliser is coming but could it come a little sooner please.
34 I’m pretty sure the defender just saved that shot with his hand. Yes he did. Fucking hell you won’t see a clearer penalty than that all season. The assistant referee is on that side as well. People who criticise VAR should be made to watch that on repeat. I’ve seen volleyball players make less contact with their hands. Stone fucking wall. As you can guess by the following reaction he’s not fucking given it – You muggy little bald prick. Fuck off.
38 Gonçalves aims a header low to the right hand post from eight yards. Keeper does well to get down and push it behind for a corner.
42 Finally a penalty decision you’d agree with as Evenilton lunges in on Edwards in full flight.
43 GOAL Edwards decides he’s the man for the job … and he’s right as he buries the ball into the bottom right hand corner. The keeper went so early he went the wrong way and counter acted it to go the right way before Edwards had even kicked it. What happened to the keeper not being able to move? Doesn’t matter. Olivais e Moscavide 1 Sporting CP 1.
Three minutes indicated
46 Yellow shown for foul on Paulinho by Evenilton out wide on the left. From the resulting free kick there’s a clash of heads in the box with Paulinho the culprit. That’s why he points at his head when he celebrates, he’s pointing out it’s made of concrete. This half has a while to go yet as the defender receives treatment in the form of a bag of ice on the top of his bonce. Whatever happened to the magic sponge?
Half time
CD Olivais e Moscavide 1 Sporting CP 1
Well we’re all square at 1-1. Who had money on that then? We had this referee earlier in the season and if I had a clue of his name I’d try work out what game he did for us previously and see what I thought of that performance because in this he’s acted like a man hoping the VAR room will advise him forgetting their isn’t one. I’m not convinced about the first penalty, he’s missed the stonewall one where the defender handles it, picks it up, places it in his hand like it’s a skull and says ‘alas poor Yorick I knew him Horatio’ like he’s in a West End theatre in London Town. OK maybe it didn’t happen like that but it was a penalty and nothing you can do or say will convince me otherwise.
OK so my moan about the referee over and all credit bar the occasional play acting is due to Olivais. They’ve not been overawed and fully deserve to still be in this tie. It would be so easy to point the finger at Sporting and go blah blah blah, but what’s the point? As indicated they should have had a penalty, they’ve hit the bar and they’ve now levelled the game so credit to the Olivais players to a man. I don’t believe they won’t tank around the 70th minute and start to tire and the gulf in quality will then really start to show but for now they’re very much in this game and I doubt their most ardent of fans would have believed that possible prior to kick off. I think we’ll see Geny introduced on the left. Trincão hasn’t really offered anything and St Juste will (if Amorim has any sense) be withdrawn around the hour mark with the minutes clocked and tucked under his belt as he makes his way back to full match fitness. I don’t think Paulinho has really done much either so I wouldn’t be overly surprised if we see Gyökeres to just apply that final lethal touch and spare any potential blushes if we don’t go ahead soon after the restart.
No sign of the players returning but Geny Is stripping off on the bench so one assumes he’s about to come on.
They’re showed replays of both penalties awarded. Edwards one slowed right down despite it being night and day. The first is still shown at full speed which suggests that slowed down from behind it shows Fresneda getting fouled and not the other way around.
Second half
On comes my new favourite player for Fresneda. He’s not had the most auspicious starts to his Sporting career it’s fair to suggest. He’s making Esgaio look a lot better though so someone in the squad will be happy with his sub par performances. The home side look like they’re making a triple substitution.
47 Wow where did Neto come from there? He cuts in from out of frame in the replay top right like he’s swung in on a rope. To be fair I do call him the pirate. He could have played professional basketball with the height on that leap. Sorry I’ll shut up.
49 Yellow to Edwards for a cynical trip on Phellipe. This kid has been the best player on the park tonight for either side.
52 GOAL Geny! Olivais e Moscavide 1 Sporting CP 2. That was a fucking comedy sketch. Paulinho plays a poor ball into the six yard box. Defender clears into the face of another. It then falls to Edwards at the far post who heads onto the bar. Finally the ball comes to Geny who smashes it home with a well-stuck volley into the floor which gave the keeper no chance. Fucking typical Bet365 coverage froze seconds before that went in. I’m pretty sure Nuno Santos is now on. Must have lost a minute or two in the void of trying to reconnect. That’s going to have been for Reis anyway.
58 I gave the home side until 70 until they started to tank. I might revise that to the hour mark as more than the one player finally now look like they’re actually lower league players.
58 First real attacking break of the night for Sporting as gaps appear but Nuno Santos inexplicably squares to a defender. They’ll breathe a sigh of relief.
59 Nuno Santos chips into Bragança and keeper saves from point blank range but the ball ricochets into the centre where Paulinho was charging in like a bull. Pedro clears but takes a huge whack from Paulinho. He’s kept his side in it there. The third is not far off on this showing. Unsurprisingly Pedro is down for treatment. That hurt.
62 Trincão lays a ball gift wrapped for Edwards who’s unmarked eight yards out and he’s somehow contrived to put it wide right. That’s worse than the miss in the third minute. He won’t want to see that one again. I said the third goal wasn’t far off, well that really should have been it. Edwards should be walking off with the match ball tucked under his arm at full time, instead for now it’s just the one goal for the Englishman.
68 Sad to see Pedro hobbling off aided by his physio. That clearance as I said earlier really did keep his side in it... for now.
69 Beautiful football from Trincão. A mazy diagonal run culminated in a pass to Geny in space whose effort is pushed out for a corner.
73 Nuno Santos tries from 25 yards. Wicked swerve on that effort. Not sure if it took a deflection or the keeper got a hand. Either way it’s a Sporting corner.
74 Hjulmand comes on for Essugo. I expected more from the youngster given this rare opportunity. Amorim clearly doesn’t think he’s got a future at the club.
75 Keeper rushes off his line to stop a goal bound Bragança effort. Now it’s his turn to keep his side in it.
78 Yellow card to Paulino for a foul on St Juste. No wrapping him up in cotton wool then from Amorim. I appreciate he needs minutes for match fitness but get him off please.
80 Oh he’s off. Edwards for Esgaio and Inácio for St Juste. I’ll shut up then.
81 A very bedraggled looking Trincão fires wide from 20 yards. This half (not including this shot) he’s reminded us there is a talented player in there somewhere. Consistency is what’s missing.
84 Paulinho header saved from four yards out. Either side of the keeper and he wasn’t saving that. Not been his night at all. Replay shows he was unmarked and Bragança couldn’t have played the ball into him better given 100 attempts to do so. The director cuts to a shot of Gyökeres on the bench looking nonplussed. Somewhere in Portugal a commentator is probably suggesting the Swede would have put that chance away. I think they’d be right as well to suggest it given I’m here suggesting it.
88 There’s that turn of pace again from Geny causing defenders nightmares again. Sadly his pull back was cut out though by a defender.
89 Geny goes into the book for a late challenge. Can’t argue with that one.
Five minutes added
+1 Bragança miss hits a shot from 8 yards over the bar. He’s got Trincão’s shooting boots on today.
+2 Jesus fucking H Christ and a tiny donkey, that had my arse twitching. Header onto the post from Freitas but he was a yard offside. Breathe… Not sure if that noise was the ball onto the post or my heart slamming into my rib cage
+3 GOAL I fucking love this kid. Geny one on one with the keeper, sits him on his arse, sits a further two defenders on their arse one of whom smashes into the post, cuts the ball back to Bragança to tap in from a yard out. Olivais e Moscavide 1 Sporting CP 3. I take it back he doesn’t have Trincão’s shooting boots on. He could hardly miss from there mind. That being said Edwards might have missed it tonight. Sorry Marcus. Love you.
Full time
CD Olivais e Moscavide 1 Sporting CP 3
The Final Word
Final whistle blows. I don’t care that Geny was only on for the second half, he’s hands down my man of the match for Sporting. Overall I’d give it to Phellipe. He maybe went missing after the hour mark but until that point, for me anyway, he looked the best player on the pitch and kept St Juste on his toes. Speaking of whom the 80 minutes in his legs has to be the biggest positive of the night. If Amorim insists on playing one defensive player on the wing and one attacking then on current form I’m sorry Nuno, but I’d be starting Geny and Reis. I mean to be fair I’d actually start Nuno Santos and Geny but that’s not in Amorim’s plans as he’s stated publicly. Maybe in the end you could suggest the scoreline flattered Sporting but had the referee decisions been better in the first half you’d be talking a very different scoreline. Olivais fans (if there actually were any in attendance) can hold their heads up high as can their players. They’ve done themselves and their club proud tonight.
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