Jornada five arrived in Liga Portugal 2 with the table now starting to take shape.
It is Santa Clara who led the Liga with relative comfort at this early stage of the season, but would they finally be troubled when Penafiel visited the Azores on Saturday?
Elsewhere, AVS aimed to extend their undefeated streak to seven games in all competitions when they faced off against the Liga’s bottom side, winless Länk Vilaverdense.
AVS 2-0 Vilaverdense
It was a contrasting game for both sides as they looked to either end or extend their current streaks. It’s been a nightmare start for Vilaverdense in Liga II, just as much as it’s been a dreamland for AVS. However, as the weeks go on, it appears it is no dream for AVS; the promotion push is becoming reality, while the nightmare in Vilaverdense is also becoming far too real.
The first half got underway staying true to the table, as AVS comfortably looked the more dangerous of the two teams. Vilaverdense goalkeeper Ivo Gonçalves tipped two early efforts onto the bar from Clayton and Zé Ricardo, while Pedro Trigueira in the AVS net was hardly tested, apart from a couple of efforts from range. The closest of those efforts was directly from a corner that surprised Trigueira but didn’t quite catch him out.
There is only so much a team can withstand and in the 27th minute the Vilaverdense backline reached their limit. AVS found the breakthrough via a long throw into the Vilaverdense box which was headed on to Nenê, who was waiting in the six-yard-box. The 40-year-old, directed the ball towards goal before bravely shielded the ball into Ivo’s net, almost receiving a kick in the face for his efforts.
The opener woke Länk up as they began to play some nice football. The side has shown this season they are good on the ball, but they clearly lack a cutting-edge in the final third. In the second half, Vilaverdense continued to play better, dominating proceedings. However, it was still AVS who were producing much better chances despite their lack of control. Harramiz would come the closest to finding an equalizer for Länk with two near-post efforts that were routinely saved by Trigueira.
The sort of attacking threat that Vilaverdense missed throughout the game was what finally sunk Barbosa’s men. AVS’s John Mercado took on the Vilaverdense backline using some rapid pace to make life uncomfortable for the defenders. The tricky winger found an angle for a shot, but his effort would be saved by Ivo. The save however, only went so far, finding a prowling Nenê who once again was expertly positioned to touch the ball home.
At 40 years old it cannot be easy to play professional football, yet today the 2009 Primeira Liga top scorer showed why he still plays the game. His speed and stamina may not be what it was fifteen years ago, but his intuition and positioning for getting goals is still that of the highest levels.
As the rain began to pour, any chance of a Vilaverdense comeback began to wash away, with AVS playing some marvellous football in the game’s final moments. In the end, it would be the two intelligent goals from the veteran Nenê that would keep Lank rooted to the bottom of the table and claim win number seven in all competitions for AVS. More importantly, Saturday’s win sees AVS climb to the top spot in Liga II.
Santa Clara 0-0 Penafiel
Vasco Matos’s Santa Clara went into the game not only at the top of the table but also still to concede a single goal this season. The Azoreans have methodically shut down every team they have faced with ease, playing a way that is proving successful in frustrating their Liga II opponents.
Penafiel already had enough frustrations to deal with, being 13th with only four points so far, a very disappointing tally considering Hélder Cristóvão’s men have been consistently impressive this season.
The first half began with Penafiel’s consistency continuing into the Estádio de São Miguel, defending well as they always have done this season. Not surprisingly, with two teams that defend so strongly, it was a slow chess-like battle in the Azores. The best chance of the half went to Penafiel in the 23rd minute when Hugo Firmino found space for a header that was well saved by Gabriel Batista.
It was hard to imagine that the second half could be any less exciting than the first was but it did transpire to be so. Santa Clara’s slow methodical play just would not work against a side that defends as well as Penafiel do, resulting in very few chances.
Santa Clara didn’t help themselves at times with some massive blunders from their attackers. Bruno Almeida killed a four-on-three attack by attempting a rabona that went straight out of play instead of finding any of the unmarked Santa Clara forwards in the box. And Lucas Soares also had a moment to forget when he got on the end of a fantastic cross, mishitting the ball only a couple feet from goal on the 77th minute - it really should have been the game’s winner.
Ultimately, the match ended in a goalless stalemate. Penafiel moved upwards to 11th, while Santa Clara dropped out of the promotion places and into 3rd.
Player making waves: Leandro Antunes
Waves were getting made all over this week in Liga II. Leixões won for the first time this season with a big performance from goalkeeper Igor Stefanović, and Oliveirense’s André Schutte was once again scoring some outrageous goals. However, no performance was quite like the one we got from União de Leiria and Leandro Antunes at Belenenses.
The Leiria revolution under Vasco Botelho da Costa may have started to stall in recent weeks, but they definitely got back on track with a terrific performance this weekend away to Belenenses. Leandro Antunes was a key component in the win, being involved in all three first half goals.
Antunes’ first involvement was an unselfish assist as he headed the ball to the better-positioned Lucho Vega to convert the match opener, the second was a simple tap-in scored by Antunes after David Grilo’s save unfortunately landed at the former Belenenses youth player’s feet. The best of the lot however, was saved for last when Antunes’ final goal involvement saw the 26-year-old chest and volley a beautiful effort just inside the box past Grilo right on the brink of halftime.
It was an outstanding performance for Antunes, but also a fantastic team performance from every player in the white of Leiria as they would go on to claim the largest victory of the season so far with a scoreline of 5-0, picking up three vital points that move da Costa’s men up to 7th.
Liga II Jornada 5 results:
Pacos Ferreria 1-2 Leixões
AVS 2-0 Lank Vilaverdense
FC Porto B 0-2 Maritímo
Nacional 1-0 Feirense
Santa Clara 0-0 Penafiel
Tondela 2-1 Mafra
Oliveirense 2-2 Viseu
Belenenses 0-5 União de Leiria
Benfica B 0-2 Torreense
By José Almeida
