Gil Vicente 0 Sporting CP 4

Gil Vicente v Sporting CP
April 12^th, 2024
Estádio Cicade de Barcelos
Matchday 28

The Warm Up

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m sat in the garden, I can feel the sun beating down on my face merging with the afterglow of a Dérbi win. I watch as the plants bend in the wind, that most powerful of forces that we cannot see and yet the world over a multitude of things bend to its will. It’s the invisible hand that guides and maybe there’s something akin in the world of football that we cannot see. Something is happening that cannot be explained, a kinetic energy that keeps pushing and guiding. It brings about Dérbi winners in injury time. It brings 14 straight home wins. People I know, love and respect believe it’s preordained. As the Jewish ’ould say it's kismet. It's been one hell of a week knocking your biggest rivals out of the Taça de Portugal and then a 2-1 Dérbi win to extend the lead at the top of the table to four points still with the game in hand. No one would blame you for getting carried away at the possibilities that lie ahead. For me though my feet are back firmly on the ground. Call me Captain Pessimist, I’m fully aware that this week counts for nothing if the wheels come off and we’ve got many more roads to travel down and the first begins away to Gil Vicente on Friday night. Like anyone who’s ever wiled away the hours playing Mario Kart, one moment you’ve got a seemingly unassailable lead and the next you’ve hit a banana skin and found yourself spinning out and watching someone overtake you. As we get older we all find out at some point that life simply isn’t fair. Yet every so often fortune favours the brave. That being said it’s always the hope that kills you. How’s that for a perfect contradiction in terms?

Whilst Sporting aren’t the only side unbeaten at home this season, for now they remain the only side with a 100% win rate. PSV, Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool have now drawn 1 or more times, though credit to Bayer who ahead of their Europa League tie on Thursday are unbeaten in all competitions which quite frankly is a staggering statistic as I write at the end of the first week in April.

Following his hat-trick in the 6-1 win at home to Boavista, Viktor Gyökeres has now gone three games without a league goal, though he did find the net against Portugal for Sweden during the international break. He scored twice in the reverse of this fixture as Sporting came from behind to win 3-1. The corresponding fixture last April finished 0-0 but it’s worth noting by that point our season had already petered out. Since the start of February their form has fallen off a cliff recording one win in ten in all competitions which came away at fellow strugglers Estoril. They sit two points above the relegation zone so will be desperate for the points as they look to avoid a possible relegation. A win will take us temporarily at seven points clear at the top with the neighbours not playing until Sunday night. They face Moreirense at home and will have played Marseille in the Europa League on Thursday night. For the purposes of karma my fingers are crossed they win and carry on their season in Europe adding to their workload as the season starts to draw to a close.

The money markets

Gil Vicente 17/2 = 10.53% probability chance of winning
Sporting 2/7 = 77.77% probability chance of winning 

Outrights

Sporting 1/6 = 85.71% probability chance of lifting the title
Benfica 4/1 = 20% probability chance of lifting the title
500/1 the rest 

Team News

If only you could have seen the look of utter bemusement I felt creep across my face looking at the predicted formation with Esgaio wide left as a replacement for Reis. We’ll have to wait until kick off to see how accurate that one is but nonetheless he does start with last Saturday’s hero Geny on the opposing flank. Quaresma and Diomande come in for Coates and St Juste. Bragança deputises for Hjulmand. Otherwise as you were. I saw a headline in respects of Amorim, Liverpool and the three players he’d bring with him if he left in the summer. I didn’t read it but we all know it’ll be Esgaio, Paulinho and one other.

First Half

So then 9 games remain: 8 league and 1 cup final. Or to throw in a cliché into the mix we’ve 9 cup finals left. 720 minutes plus whatever injury time match officials deem necessary. 18 halves of football over 12 hours. We’re the equivalent of just half a day away from glory or disappointment and abject failure. Then again maybe it’ll be a 50/50 split. Maybe I do mathematics when I’m nervous to try to keep my kind on other things or maybe I’ve already cracked under the tension and pressure? I must be cause I’m definitely watching Esgaio out wide left. Am I having a cheese dream?

6 GOAL Post! Post and Golo – Gil Vicente 0 Sporting CP 1. Morita let swing with an effort centrally from 27 yards which cannoned back off the left post. The ball by way of a defensive error found its way to Trincão whose curling effort from 15 yards struck the same post before nestling into the net

10 GOAL Gil Vicente 0 Sporting CP 2. Gonçalves cross from the right finds Diomande unmarked at the back post to head home from 8 yards

18 Trincão shoots from the edge of the D but the keeper watches it clear his bar

25 Gonçalves tries from 20 yards but the keeper punches clear. They all clearly fancy their chances from range against this keeper

28 Trincão finds himself clear in the box but can’t connect properly from 8 yards unmarked and a grateful keeper collects. He hits his head against the post knowing that should be 3-0

30 GOAL Gil Vicente 0 Sporting CP 3 as Trincão makes it 2 for him on the night. Bragança played him into space and from 8 yards he calmly puts it past the keeper into the bottom left hand corner

33 Bragança fires low from 24 yards but straight at the keeper

35 Close up shot of Gyökeres and you’d be forgiven for forgetting the league’s top scorer was even on the pitch so far

37 GOAL Perfectly timed comment from me as always – Gil Vicente 0 Sporting CP 4 as Gonçalves hits a first time cross from the left onto the head of the Swede which hits the bar and goes in off the keeper. He’ll claim it but it may well go down as an own goal. For now they’ve awarded it to Andrew. I’ll learn that as soon as I point one thing out be prepared for the exact opposite to then occur time and time again this season

One minute additional time

Half time

Gil Vicente 0 Sporting CP 4

Talk about the tale of two teams heading in different directions. On this form one is Europe bound, the other heading for life in the second tier next season if they don’t get their act together fast. A rare game in that all the joy has come centrally for Sporting and not from the flanks. Trincão has been outstanding and could have had another hat-trick to add to his one against Belenenses. There’s nothing to suggest that he won’t find it in the second half. The only weak link has been Esgaio who’s struggled playing out of position on the left. At one point he picked the ball up by their goal line and his turning circle to put it onto h’s right foot was larger than that of a London Bus. I’m assuming Nuno Santos’ suspension came about because of his yellow on the bench in last week’s Dérbi which is frankly unforgivable. It’s surely a case of how many goals come full time which will see us 7 points clear.

Second half

46 Gyökeres goes on the charge down the right and wins a corner from which his resulting header goes into the hands of their keeper. He looks like a man who has been told he’s not been given the fourth goal at half time. Maybe unsurprisingly the home side made three substitutions at half time. Had it been pre season we’d have probably had a full XI changed by the home team

48 First yellow shown to Dominguez for a trip on Gonçalves

51 Late Lunge on Trincão by Kiko sees the second yellow in three minutes

52 Half chance for the home side as a ball into the six yard box evades the forward and to safety

52 How many times have we seen Gyökeres fashion his own chances this season? Starts wide right, turns his marker and flashes a shot wide of the far post

54 Sensibly Geny is now operating from the left which is allowing Gyökeres the space to attack on the right and taking the pressure off of Esgaio

56 Edwards rushes to the bench so I assume he’s about to come on

58 Gyökeres unceremoniously dumped on his backside outside on the right hand side of the 18 yard box. Gonçalves free kick punched away by the keeper but eventually Sporting claim a corner

60 Coates also shown on the sidelines. The home side with an hour gone still to register a shot on target. Inácio and Gonçalves depart. Bragança hands over the captains armband to the Uruguayan

62 Poor from Bragança as he turns on the edge of the box and is dispossessed. Morita bails him out for a Gil Vicente corner

63 Israel saves low to his right from a powerful header eight yards out from Depú. At least the home fans still in attendance have had something to cheer

67 Gyökeres fires into the side netting from a tight angle wide right. He’s playing like a man who knows I have jinxed him by having money on him to break his run of three games without a goal

69 Sporting fans rise to their feet to applaud Trincão who is replaced with Paulinho. Fresneda returns to action after his long lay off with a shoulder injury as Saturday night’s match winner Geny comes off

74 Gyökeres charges from inside his own half into the box on the break. The through ball was on to the left but he was having none of it as his shot was blocked by a defender from 5 yards out. At 4-0 up you can afford to be selfish as you chase down the golden boot

77 Koindredi replaces Bragança

78 Hand bags at 2 paces between Diomande and Miro a yard in front of the referee. The referee steps in and points to his temples facing Miro as if to say don’t lose your head. Sensible refereeing is always good to see and he avoids the type of early card he won’t want before his 21st birthday Monday week

Plus two indicated

Full time

Gil Vicente 0 Sporting CP 4

The Final Word

This will sound incredibly daft I’m sure, but if you swapped the two halves around you’d come away thinking what an amazing game, however having gone in four goals to the good at half time you come away a little disappointed that Sporting failed to add to the scoreline. Not that you’d get the same sense from those in attendance who’ve not stopped singing all night and are thoroughly enjoying themselves. Sporting didn’t have to go through the gears in the second half; they’d done the hard work. They could afford to take their foot off the gas and conserve some energy ahead of Tuesday night’s trio away to Famalicão. You can’t complain though. If you looked at the score in isolation and had not seen the game you’d think it fantastical and maybe I’m just a miserable bastard. I think also coming off the buzz of a Dérbi win in additional time slightly skews my perspective. Man of the match goes to Trincão and he rightly deserved his standing ovation. Gyökeres for all his hustle and bustle second half continues his goal drought. Thankfully this is a side who’ve shared the goals around this season and in years past that would have triggered huge alarm bells. All that matters ultimately is another 3 points. A week ago we went into the game a point clear. Now the neighbours go into their Sunday night game knowing they have to try and close a 7 point gap and have their return leg against Marseille to follow on Thursday night. We can only hope they buckle under the pressure in the league at least. I’m happy for them to have to continue to play additional games adding to their fatigue.