Match Report


Rio AveRio Ave     Sporting BragaSporting Braga
Borja LegazBorja Legaz Computer Player Computer Player
Dumitru StingaD. Stinga77
G
captain1
G
64Jermaine SturridgeJ. Sturridge
Ruben PinheiroR. Pinheiro69
D
2
D
71Morten BögelundM. Bögelund
Anton KohlerA. Kohler80
D
3
D
68Leonardo GarciaL. Garcia
Gabriel CruzG. Cruz78
D
4
D
64Quim BarrosQ. Barros
Jorge AntunesJ. Antunes75
D
5
D
64Jaime VarelaJ. Varela
Alberto VelosoA. Veloso80
M
6
M
71Greg GascoigneG. Gascoigne
Rui CarvalhoR. Carvalho82
M
7captain
M
70Ruben AntunesR. Antunes
Miguel NevesM. Neves82
M
8
A
73Mike HoogstrateM. Hoogstrate
Gaspar AlmeidaG. Almeida78
A
9
A
72Mario JardimM. Jardim
Nuno MendesN. Mendes77
A
10
A
71Cliff van der HoekC. van der Hoek
Tiago FernandesT. Fernandes69
A
11
A
70Moreno LantignottiM. Lantignotti
 
Mark QuagliaM. Quaglia73
D
12
D
48Sebastiao AndradeS. Andrade
Liam NaylorL. Naylor74
M
13
D
43Ray PaschettaR. Paschetta
Jose SoaresJ. Soares70
A
14
A
42Neil SounessN. Souness

Back Of The Net
today's match is sponsored by BOTN
Match Report
Snow falls gently from the overcast sky here at Estádio dos Arcos where Rio Ave play host to Sporting Braga. Its a sell-out today with the 21,000 capacity stadium completely full.
The pitch is in great condition.
Rio Ave are playing in a 4-3-3 formation while Sporting Braga appear to be shaped for 4-2-4.
Today's match is refereed by Sergio Fonseca.


0.00
Rio Ave kick off and get the first half underway!
3.48
Cliff van der Hoek makes an attacking run forward. Cliff van der Hoek knocks in a cross ball towards Greg Gascoigne. Greg Gascoigne is unmarked! He powers a header at goal. Magnificent save by Dumitru Stinga!
4.37
Miguel Neves threads a neat ball through to Gaspar Almeida. Gaspar Almeida knocks in a cross ball which is cleared easily by the defence.
8.11
Miguel Neves flicks a high pass forward. Tiago Fernandes controls it well on his chest. Tiago Fernandes shoots from outside the area but connects badly and the ball goes wide!
10.30
Alberto Veloso hits a low pass to Tiago Fernandes. Tiago Fernandes finds some space and shoots from distance but it flies well off target!
12.35
With a delightful solo run, Gabriel Cruz stretches the opposition's defence. Gabriel Cruz whips in a cross ball towards Nuno Mendes. Nuno Mendes flicks the ball with his head. Jermaine Sturridge easily punches it away to safety.
16.09
Rui Carvalho sees a break and surges forward. Rui Carvalho shoots from long range but it whistles just wide of the post!
18.05
Miguel Neves knocks the ball forward to Nuno Mendes. Nuno Mendes whips in a cross ball towards Alberto Veloso. Alberto Veloso is perfectly placed and heads the ball at goal but it curls horrendously wide!
21.33
Greg Gascoigne hacks Gabriel Cruz from behind! The referee reaches into his pocket ... it's a yellow card! Gabriel Cruz runs off the knock.
24.21
Ruben Pinheiro controls the ball well before passing to his team mate, Miguel Neves. Miguel Neves kicks a strong pass forward to Rui Carvalho. Rui Carvalho whips in a cross ball towards Miguel Neves. Miguel Neves flicks the ball with his head but Jermaine Sturridge is on top of it.
26.35
Jorge Antunes flicks a high pass forward. Alberto Veloso collects the pass. Alberto Veloso flicks a high ball forward to Rui Carvalho who takes it down. Rui Carvalho hits a low pass to Gaspar Almeida. Gaspar Almeida muscles his way past his marker and unleashes a shot at goal. Jermaine Sturridge is helpless! The ball slams into the back of the net - goal!!
32.18
Gabriel Cruz makes a simple pass to Miguel Neves. Miguel Neves chips the ball to his team mate, Tiago Fernandes. Tiago Fernandes lofts in a cross ball towards Alberto Veloso. Alberto Veloso is unmarked! He powers a header at goal which easily beats the keeper. Goal!!
39.28
With great vision, Jorge Antunes plays the ball forward to Tiago Fernandes. Tiago Fernandes knocks in a cross ball but it is too close to Jermaine Sturridge who gathers it comfortably.
44.07
Ruben Antunes flicks the ball to his team mate, Mike Hoogstrate. Mike Hoogstrate threads a neat, attacking ball through to Mario Jardim. Mario Jardim comes in from the left and smashes a shot from 9 yards out. The ball flies into the top corner - goal!!
45.00
The referee whistles the end of the first half!

Both teams emerge for the second half. Rio Ave appear unchanged since the first half. Sporting Braga also appear unchanged since the first half.

45.00
The whistle blows and Sporting Braga get the second half underway!
47.43
Leonardo Garcia pushes up the pitch. Leonardo Garcia changes direction and makes an attacking run forward. Leonardo Garcia tries a spectacular long range effort but it's drastically wayward!
48.26
Miguel Neves sees space and advances. Miguel Neves whips in a cross ball towards Nuno Mendes. Nuno Mendes jumps high and flicks the ball with his head. The ball clips the inside of the post and flies into the back of the net!! Goal for Rio Ave!
51.22
Quim Barros plays the ball forward to Leonardo Garcia. Leonardo Garcia knocks the ball to his team mate, Ruben Antunes. Ruben Antunes chips the ball to his team mate, Cliff van der Hoek. Cliff van der Hoek shows great control and tries a shot on goal. The keeper is more than a match for it. Good save!
53.50
Greg Gascoigne slams into Ruben Pinheiro with his studs up. The referee reaches into his pocket ... it's a red card!! Ruben Pinheiro stretches but gets up unharmed.
53.50
Rio Ave are in full control of this game.
54.40
Gabriel Cruz sees Gaspar Almeida in space ahead and quickly passes the ball. Gaspar Almeida knocks the ball forward to Nuno Mendes but the linesmans flag is up. Offside!
55.21
Ruben Pinheiro makes a strong solo run forward. Ruben Pinheiro passes the ball forward to Tiago Fernandes. Tiago Fernandes threads the ball through to Gaspar Almeida but he's offside!
59.37
Alberto Veloso flicks a high ball forward to Gaspar Almeida who takes it down. Gaspar Almeida shoots from distance. It slams into the side netting. So close!!
60.47
Miguel Neves deftly passes the ball to his team mate, Tiago Fernandes. Tiago Fernandes edges inside the box! Tiago Fernandes looks for support before firing off a hurried shot at goal. Tiago Fernandes scores for Rio Ave!!
66.10
Nuno Mendes chips the ball to his team mate, Miguel Neves. Miguel Neves whips in a cross ball towards Gaspar Almeida. Gaspar Almeida jumps high and flicks the ball with his head but it misses the target by a large margin!
71.42
Ruben Antunes hacks Gaspar Almeida from behind! Ruben Antunes is warned by the referee! Gaspar Almeida runs off the knock.
73.10
Ruben Antunes controls the ball well before passing to his team mate, Mike Hoogstrate. Mike Hoogstrate shoots from long range but is denied by Dumitru Stinga. Excellent save.
75.10
Miguel Neves hits a low pass to Alberto Veloso. Alberto Veloso knocks in a cross ball which is cleared by the defence.
77.15
Miguel Neves hits a low pass to Gaspar Almeida. Gaspar Almeida lofts in a cross ball towards Nuno Mendes. Nuno Mendes whips the ball goalwards with his head. The ball comes off Quim Barros and the loose ball is cleared up field.
81.22
Anton Kohler sees Ruben Pinheiro in space ahead and quickly passes the ball. Ruben Pinheiro laces a through ball forward to Miguel Neves. Miguel Neves whips in a cross ball towards Nuno Mendes. With a superhuman jump, Nuno Mendes connects with the ball and heads it goalwards. The ball flies a good few feet wide of the post.
85.06
Gabriel Cruz plays the ball forward to Tiago Fernandes. Tiago Fernandes kicks a strong pass forward to Gaspar Almeida. Gaspar Almeida controls the ball perfectly and tries a long range shot on goal but connects badly, narrowly missing the linesman!
89.18
Alberto Veloso kicks a strong pass forward to Rui Carvalho. Rui Carvalho finds some space and shoots from distance. The ball comes in low, but Jermaine Sturridge effortlessly smothers it!
90.00
Alberto Veloso changes direction and makes an attacking run forward. Alberto Veloso finds some space and shoots from distance. The keeper is more than a match for it. Excellent save!
90.00
Full-time is reached with the referee blowing his whistle!

Match Statistics
 

Rio Ave

Sporting Braga
Goals
4
1
Shots on Target
9
4
Shots off Target
8
1
Offsides
2
0
Fouls
0
3
Yellow Cards
0
1
Red Cards
0
1

Possession
75.3%
24.7%
Play Area
17.6%
45.9%
36.5%

Scorers
Gaspar Almeida 26
Alberto Veloso 32
Nuno Mendes 48
Tiago Fernandes 60
Mario Jardim 44

Man of the Match
The man of the match was awarded to Miguel Neves of Rio Ave

Match Ratings
1.Dumitru Stinga (GK)
6
2.Ruben Pinheiro (DEF)
6
3.Anton Kohler (DEF)
6
4.Gabriel Cruz (DEF)
7
5.Jorge Antunes (DEF)
6
6.Alberto Veloso (MID)goal scored
8
7.Rui Carvalho (MID)
7
8.Miguel Neves (MID)
8
9.Gaspar Almeida (ATT)goal scored
7
10.Nuno Mendes (ATT)goal scored
7
11.Tiago Fernandes (ATT)goal scored
8
 
12.Mark Quaglia (DEF)
0
13.Liam Naylor (MID)
0
14.Jose Soares (ATT)
0

1.Jermaine Sturridge (GK)
6
2.Morten Bögelund (DEF)
6
3.Leonardo Garcia (DEF)
6
4.Quim Barros (DEF)
6
5.Jaime Varela (DEF)
6
6.Greg Gascoigne (MID)yellow cardred card
3
7.Ruben Antunes (MID)
6
8.Mike Hoogstrate (ATT)
6
9.Mario Jardim (ATT)goal scored
7
10.Cliff van der Hoek (ATT)
6
11.Moreno Lantignotti (ATT)
6
 
12.Sebastiao Andrade (DEF)
0
13.Ray Paschetta (DEF)
0
14.Neil Souness (ATT)
0