Naval shock Benfica, 2-1, to keep survival hopes alive - Portuguese Liga ZON Sagres recap
Two teams from Portuguese Liga ZON Sagres, the Naval and the Benfica, went head to head on Sunday, 10 April at Jose Bento Pessoa. The home team registered a surprising 2-1 win over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jorge-c19120 Jesus side. This win has kept Naval’s survival hope alive for the next
2011-12 season.
Carlos Mozer’s Naval went in with a 4-2-3-1 formation. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bruno-Moraes-c8137 played as a lone striker while Rojas Hermoza Edivaldo played behind Moraes. Romain Salin started in goal for the home side. The Benfica, on the other hand went in with a 4-1-3-2 formation.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Julio-Cesar-c19961 guarded the Aguias’ net.
The home team got the game off to a brisk start. In spite of being placed in the relegation zone, Naval certainly looked a far superior side in the early part of the half. Moares was causing a lot of problems upfront for Benfica’s defenders and was equally
supported by the pace and skills of Mario Rui Correia Tomas Marinho. Both players made a number of penetrations inside the first 15 minutes and the pressure finally paid off in the 21st minute. Moares whistled his shot past Cesar to earn Naval a
well deserved 1-0 lead.
The pressure was telling on Aguias’ back-four as home side continued to press hard knowing that a 1-0 lead would not be sufficient at the end of 90 minutes. The Benfica took some time to get into their usual self and once they found their touch. It did not
take them long to equalise as Kardec netted his shot past Salin in the 35th minute to make it 1-1. The score remained even when the referee blew his whistle to end the first half.
The Benfica came out hard in the second half in search of an early goal that could have put them in front but were denied by the steady the Naval’s defence. On the other hand, the Naval also did not relax and pressed forward knowing that they had to go all
out for a win in order to keep their chances alive for the next season. Both the defences were put under immense pressure as the attacks came flying by.
The game that seemed a mis-match was built into an enthralling game as no side were ready to surrender. With just a few minutes remaining on the clock, Marinho slipped his shot past Salin to regain the Naval’s lead in the 83rd minute. The Benfica
made some desperate attempts to equalise but the day belonged to the Naval as they earned a vital three points.
With this win the Naval moved up to 23 points and now are four points short of the 14th placed Vitoria de Setubal. Despite of a loss, Benfica stayed second in the table with 55 points.
The Naval will take on the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rio-Ave-FC-c40366 and Benfica will host the SC Beira-Mar in their next game on Sunday, 17 April.
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