Match Report


S.L. BenficaS.L. Benfica     Desportivo NacionalDesportivo Nacional
Lee FarrowLee Farrow Ben Biancardi Ben Biancardi
Cristiano PostigaC. Postiga78
G
captain1
G
73Cristiano LopesC. Lopes
Quim AndradeQ. Andrade77
D
2
D
75Tiago CostaT. Costa
Jo Van Der DoelenJ. Van Der Doelen76
D
3
D
89Vasco GomesV. Gomes
Jon PlattJ. Platt75
D
4
D
76Alistair MiddletonA. Middleton
Alexander WidmannA. Widmann81
M
5
M
87Jorge RibeiroJ. Ribeiro
Valerio ZauriV. Zauri75
M
6
M
81Samuel FariaS. Faria
Joe van der HoekJ. van der Hoek69
M
7captain
M
92Artur SoaresA. Soares
Silvio MichelS. Michel74
M
8
M
85Vasco MonteiroV. Monteiro
Ruben VieiraR. Vieira73
A
9
A
82Sebastiao CostaS. Costa
Jan JensenJ. Jensen77
A
10
A
78Edgar MendesE. Mendes
Colin McStayC. McStay77
A
11
A
82Pedro RegoP. Rego
 
Cristiano CarvalhoC. Carvalho67
D
12
M
78Quim AntunesQ. Antunes
Ramon GrotR. Grot73
M
13
A
74Silvio CamposS. Campos
Dragos OlteanuD. Olteanu73
A
14
G
70Sebastiao CarvalhoS. Carvalho

1 Rai
today's match is sponsored by 1Rai
Match Report
Snow falls gently from the overcast sky here at Estádio da Luz where S.L. Benfica play host to Desportivo Nacional. Its a sell-out today with the 21,000 capacity stadium completely full.
The pitch is in great condition.
Both S.L. Benfica and Desportivo Nacional are lined up in a 3-4-3 formation.
Today's match is refereed by Rui Barros.


0.00
S.L. Benfica kick off!
2.54
Vasco Monteiro makes a probing pass to Sebastiao Costa. Sebastiao Costa shoots from distance. Sebastiao Costa scores for Desportivo Nacional!!
6.01
Tiago Costa advances with the ball. Tiago Costa knocks in a cross ball which is cleared by the defence.
8.30
Jo Van Der Doelen flicks a high pass forward. Jan Jensen controls it well on his chest. Jan Jensen flicks the ball to his team mate, Joe van der Hoek. Joe van der Hoek shoots from outside the area but connects badly, narrowly missing the linesman!
10.19
With imagination, Vasco Monteiro laces a weighted ball forward to Samuel Faria. Samuel Faria runs straight at the defence! Samuel Faria tries a spectacular strike but it slams into the crowd!
20.13
Valerio Zauri makes a probing pass to Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen lofts in a cross ball towards Ruben Vieira. Ruben Vieira finds space and glances the ball goalwards with his head. The ball flies towards the top corner but the keeper is able to reach it. Nice keeping!
21.29
Tiago Costa passes the ball forward to Artur Soares. Artur Soares deftly passes the ball to his team mate, Edgar Mendes. Edgar Mendes knocks in a cross ball but it is too close to Cristiano Postiga who gathers it comfortably.
22.54
Jo Van Der Doelen surges forward with the ball. Jo Van Der Doelen threads the ball through to Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen knocks in a cross ball which is cleared easily by the defence.
26.46
Jo Van Der Doelen hits a low pass to Jon Platt. Jon Platt makes a simple pass to Alexander Widmann. Alexander Widmann knocks in a cross ball but it is headed clear by Alistair Middleton.
28.26
Silvio Michel chips the ball to his team mate, Colin McStay. Colin McStay shoots from outside the area. Solid save from Cristiano Lopes.
36.26
Quim Andrade passes the ball forward to Jon Platt. Jon Platt hits a low pass to Ruben Vieira. Ruben Vieira lofts in a cross ball towards Colin McStay. Colin McStay gets a glancing touch on the cross ball. The ball clips the inside of the post and flies into the back of the net!! Goal for S.L. Benfica!
40.45
Jon Platt breaks forward. Jon Platt controls the ball well before passing to his team mate, Colin McStay. Colin McStay whips in a cross ball towards Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen directs the ball goalwards with his head. The keeper is on top of it. Good save!
44.12
Jo Van Der Doelen darts forward. Jo Van Der Doelen makes a simple pass to Joe van der Hoek. Joe van der Hoek whips in a cross ball towards Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen is unmarked! He powers a header at goal. Cristiano Lopes picks it out of the air!
45.00
The whistle blows and the first half comes to an end!

Both teams emerge for the second half. S.L. Benfica appear unchanged since the first half. Desportivo Nacional also appear unchanged since the first half. The Desportivo Nacional players look more motivated than they were before.

45.00
Desportivo Nacional kick off the second half!
47.55
Tiago Costa flicks a high ball forward to Samuel Faria who takes it down. Samuel Faria controls the ball well before passing to his team mate, Sebastiao Costa. Sebastiao Costa knocks in a cross ball towards Edgar Mendes. Edgar Mendes rises majestically and gets a header on goal. It's there!! Cristiano Postiga has to pick the ball from the back of the net!
51.22
Jo Van Der Doelen flicks a high pass forward. Alexander Widmann controls it well on his chest. Alexander Widmann kicks a strong pass forward to Silvio Michel. Silvio Michel knocks in a cross ball towards Ruben Vieira. Ruben Vieira jumps high and flicks the ball with his head but it curls horrendously wide!
55.54
Silvio Michel flicks a high ball forward to Joe van der Hoek who takes it down. Joe van der Hoek lofts in a cross ball towards Silvio Michel. Silvio Michel beats his man to it with a header. Cristiano Lopes didn't know what hit him as the ball comes off him at close range. The loose ball is scrambled clear by the defence.
59.38
Vasco Monteiro takes a quick throw-in, lobbing the ball to the feet of Artur Soares. Artur Soares flicks a high pass forward. Pedro Rego collects the pass. Pedro Rego plays a one-two with Edgar Mendes and rushes in on goal... Some silky footwork from Pedro Rego provides him some room. He curls a shot at goal but it misses the target by a large margin!
60.56
Jon Platt deftly passes the ball to his team mate, Alexander Widmann. Alexander Widmann kicks a strong pass forward to Ruben Vieira. Ruben Vieira whips in a cross ball towards Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen flicks the ball with his head. The ball flies into the top corner - goal!!
63.23
Quim Andrade flicks a high ball forward to Colin McStay who takes it down. Colin McStay lofts in a cross ball towards Joe van der Hoek. Joe van der Hoek directs the ball goalwards with his head. It's in!! A beautiful goal for Joe van der Hoek!
66.35
Alexander Widmann flicks the ball to his team mate, Ruben Vieira. Ruben Vieira whips in a cross ball towards Colin McStay. Colin McStay makes a deft header but it's a woeful effort!
67.16
Seeing a gap ahead, Jon Platt plays the ball forward to Alexander Widmann. Alexander Widmann flicks a high pass forward. Ruben Vieira collects the pass. Ruben Vieira knocks the ball to his team mate, Colin McStay. Alistair Middleton comes in with a late challenge on Colin McStay. Penalty not given!!
69.38
Colin McStay clumsily knocks into Artur Soares. The referee brings Colin McStay to one side and gives him a warning! Artur Soares runs off the knock.
77.42
Jon Platt makes a beautiful pass to the feet of Jo Van Der Doelen. Jo Van Der Doelen threads a neat ball through to Alexander Widmann. Alexander Widmann whips in a cross ball towards Ruben Vieira. Ruben Vieira connects with a diving header but it's a woeful effort!
78.53
Quim Andrade threads a neat ball through to Jo Van Der Doelen. Jo Van Der Doelen knocks the ball to his team mate, Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen tries a spectacular long range effort but Cristiano Lopes is on top of it.
79.41
Quim Andrade makes a beautiful pass to the feet of Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen shoots from 25 yards but slams it into the crowd!
81.18
Samuel Faria knocks the ball to his team mate, Edgar Mendes. Edgar Mendes knocks in a poor cross ball which is cleared easily by Jon Platt.
83.22
Quim Andrade threads a neat ball through to Jo Van Der Doelen. Jo Van Der Doelen threads a neat ball through to Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen shoots from outside the area but it's drastically wayward!
84.17
Jo Van Der Doelen flicks a high pass forward. Valerio Zauri collects the pass. Seeing a gap ahead, Valerio Zauri plays the ball forward to Jan Jensen. Jan Jensen whips in a cross ball towards Ruben Vieira. Ruben Vieira connects with a diving header. Magnificent save by Cristiano Lopes!
85.50
Vasco Monteiro passes the ball forward to Sebastiao Costa. Sebastiao Costa passes the ball forward but Edgar Mendes is offside!
89.41
Vasco Gomes pushes mid-way up the pitch. Vasco Gomes hits a low pass to Sebastiao Costa. Sebastiao Costa knocks in a cross ball towards Edgar Mendes. Edgar Mendes beats his man to it with a header but it rises well off target!
90.00
Jon Platt flicks a high ball forward to Jo Van Der Doelen who takes it down. Jo Van Der Doelen flicks the ball to his team mate, Ruben Vieira. Ruben Vieira whips in a cross ball towards Colin McStay. Colin McStay makes a looping header on goal. The ball flies into the top corner - goal!!
90.00
The whistle indicates full-time!

Match Statistics
 

S.L. Benfica

Desportivo Nacional
Goals
4
2
Shots on Target
11
2
Shots off Target
6
3
Offsides
0
1
Fouls
1
0
Yellow Cards
0
0
Red Cards
0
0

Possession
62%
38%
Play Area
27.2%
40.2%
32.6%

Scorers
Colin McStay 36, 91
Jan Jensen 61
Joe van der Hoek 63
Sebastiao Costa 3
Edgar Mendes 48

Man of the Match
The man of the match was awarded to Colin McStay of S.L. Benfica

Match Ratings
1.Cristiano Postiga (GK)
6
2.Quim Andrade (DEF)
6
3.Jo Van Der Doelen (DEF)
8
4.Jon Platt (DEF)
7
5.Alexander Widmann (MID)
6
6.Valerio Zauri (MID)
6
7.Joe van der Hoek (MID)goal scored
7
8.Silvio Michel (MID)
6
9.Ruben Vieira (ATT)
8
10.Jan Jensen (ATT)goal scored
8
11.Colin McStay (ATT)goal scoredgoal scored
9
 
12.Cristiano Carvalho (DEF)
0
13.Ramon Grot (MID)
0
14.Dragos Olteanu (ATT)
0

1.Cristiano Lopes (GK)
8
2.Tiago Costa (DEF)
6
3.Vasco Gomes (DEF)
6
4.Alistair Middleton (DEF)
6
5.Jorge Ribeiro (MID)
6
6.Samuel Faria (MID)
6
7.Artur Soares (MID)
6
8.Vasco Monteiro (MID)
7
9.Sebastiao Costa (ATT)goal scored
8
10.Edgar Mendes (ATT)goal scored
7
11.Pedro Rego (ATT)
6
 
12.Quim Antunes (MID)
0
13.Silvio Campos (ATT)
0
14.Sebastiao Carvalho (GK)
0