Sport clearly controlled the first period after going up 1-0. Their style favors playing from ahead - keep control, don't hurry, stay tight at the back and take shots when they present themselves.
Liga is in a more difficult position, but the way forward seems clear enough - drop the ball into the attacking third and wait for their forwards' aerial superiority to pay dividends. The trouble they had through most of the first half was they spent the whole time defending, so they couldn't execute their offense. Trying to play on the ground through Sport's superior midfield seems fairly hopeless - they've got to make their money in the air.
Players who looked good - Moacir, Paulo Baier, Daniel (he didn't do much except score, but hey, it's easy to look good celebrating a goal.)
Players who looked bad - Wilson (no worse than usual, sadly), Ciro (perhaps still feeling cobwebs after getting his bell rung early on.)
With that, let's start the second half.
46' Sport takes the kickoff and tries to force it to Moacir along the right side, but he's being tightly marked and there's nothing there. Good adjustment by Liga.
48' A moment of levity as the referee seems amused by Calderón's attempt to argue that he shouldn't be booked for trying to knock the ball into the goal with his outstretched right hand. Walter, you're no Maradona.
50' Nice piece of skill by Moacir to flip the ball over his marker sets up a short buildup on the left and a low shot by Hamilton from over thirty yards out. A bit optimistic.
51' Manso takes a dive in the box. No call. Glad the ref wasn't fooled but at some point we have to think about a card, yes? This is getting a bit silly.
52' Ciro wastes a brilliant ball from Hamilton with a poor first touch. He's just not right. May be time to get him off in favor of Guto.
53' Manso unforgivably shanks a point-blank shot at an open net. That's what negative play will get you, kids. Fortune does not smile on wimps and whiners.
54' Not sure if I've mentioned this, but Wilson really is not good. He does win a free kick with a shameless dive near midfield so, ah, I guess he's got that going for him.
57' Araujo is booked for a cynical challenge on Hamilton. Bad play, good call.
60' Nice play by Cevallos to knock away a dangerous ball in from Paulo Baier after Daniel wins a free kick near the front right corner of the box.
62' Ciro gets it all wrong on a square pass from Wilson after Wilson actually makes a nice play along the sideline. The manager has finally seen enough - here comes Guto on for the struggling Ciro. About time.
65' Reasco is booked for no real reason that I can tell. Better them than us, I suppose. Liga bring Morales on for Calderon; not sure what good that's going to do, but fine by me.
69' A nice punt by Magrao finds the head of Guto, who flicks the ball on to Wilson... Oh! Confusion at the back for la Liga as both central defenders pick up Wilson as he runs onto the ball! NO ONE HAS PAULO BAIER racing up from midfield and Wilson slides an easy pass into his path. Only the keeper to beat and Cevallos trips Baier in the box - must be a card and a penalty! And the card is red!
70' On replay it looks to have been a harsh decision as Cevallos thought he had a play on the ball, but Paulo Baier could have dribbled it in from there, so you can understand the ejection. Cevallos will miss la Liga's next match as well - very tough break.
71' Now the match would seem to be on Paulo Baier's foot at the mark; it's impossible to see Liga storming back from 0-2 a man down, with their backup keeper in the game. Daniel Viteri is the new netminder and he looks uncomfortable, jumping around on his line as Paulo Baier considers what play to make. Here's the strike and it's low and straight at Viteri, but the keeper leaps out of the way! He gets a boot on it as it goes by, but it's in the net for a goal as Baier read the keeper and made the easy play. Can't fault Viteri there as he was asked to come in cold in an extremely difficult position, but you know he's kicking himself for moving too early.
76' Paulo Baier comes off for Fumagalli in a positive move - the aging midfielder has done all that was asked of him and more. A bravura performance and a virtual lock for man of the match.
77' Liga finally look alive, creating a couple good chances, but they don't get a shot on target. One wonders why they didn't play this way the rest of the match.
78' Fox's imaginary group table, which now shows Sport with six points, at least is starting to resemble something that is likely to happen soon.
79' Sport kill a few minutes with a long, slow buildup. Fumagalli seems to have been sent in with instructions to hold the ball and work the clock, because he's not trying to make use of his fresh legs even though there are runs available all over the place. Finally Moacir breaks free along the right channel but eventually Wilson is flagged for being offsides for no reason.
80' Ooh, on replay, Wilson looked to be onside when the ball was hit through. Doesn't matter - he wouldn't have scored anyway.
81' After Moacir wins a free kick in the right corner, Fumagalli's ball in finds César Lucena's head right in the goalmouth and he nods it down... NO! Just the wrong side of the far post. Tough break for the Sport defender as a few degrees to the right he would have been in, and a few degrees to the left Wilson would have had an easy play to knock it in from one yard out. As it is, it's a loud goal kick.
82' Another positive substitution, Sport's last, as Sandro Goiano comes on and Daniel leaves the field to lusty cheers, signaling his appreciation to the fans. A nice moment for the unheralded defensive midfielder. Then Liga play a long ball into the box and it's in! But the flag's up for offsides - yes, he left early. Close one, but it remains 2-0. Maybe Liga should have played with ten men the whole match.
85' Here comes Larrea on for Bieler. Looking close to over now. Oh, Dutra with a dangerous tackle just outside the box, and he's going to be booked! Will it be red? No, just yellow, and on replay it looks like a harsh decision even still - the play appears to have been legal as he got the ball before the man. Certainly looked bad in real time though, so hard to complain. He seems to have a sense of humor about it, and why not? Up 2-0, nothing hurts.
87' A delay as something's wrong with Liga's goal. They're jumping up and down and messing with the roof of the net. Not clear what the problem is. After a while they decide it's OK and get back to the game.
88' This free kick looks like the last chance to salvage something from this game. Here's the strike from Manso and it's hooking toward the near post... Magrao is badly beaten... OH! But the crossbar is the keeper's best friend and the ball bounces out past the 18 yard line to a waiting Moacir, who hits it forward to a streaking Sandro Goiano... ugh. He loses the ball on a weird-looking move. Not clear what he was going for there.
89' Renán Calle is booked for a rough challenge as Liga are getting desperate. They need to be careful - that could have been red. No need to throw the next match away chasing one that already got away.
91' Five minutes of added time to kill, so it's not totally over, but Liga seem to be out of gas. They've looked lost most of the match - most of their good play has come off of free kicks. Manso's not ready to give up, but the rest of his team is, and Wilson takes the opportunity to make a long run under a bounding ball... and then whiff on a header. Nice.
93' Manso hits a good ball in on a corner, but Magrao eats it up. The keeper has been good, not great, but he'll get a clean sheet for his efforts it seems. Manso trying to pressure the ball by himself, but he has no support and the referee decides the fifth minute of injury time is academic. Sport 2 - 0 LDU and Sport takes a commanding position in Group 1.
All in all, a good performance with some ragged edges. Hamilton and Dutra show flashes but don't seem to be able to put it together for significant stretches. The back line played very well, and the midfielders, especially Moacir and Paulo Baier, combined for some inventive moves. Forwards were lackluster but they picked the right day for it as Sport got goals from two midfielders.
Paulo Baier was the man of the match going away, with honorable mentions to Moacir and Daniel. Great match and I look forward to our next one in Sao Paolo against struggling Palmeiras.
Valeu Sport!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sport v. Liga de Quito - Primiero Tiempo
Many apologies for not getting a true match report up for the Colo Colo win but other responsibilities impeded my ability to block out the three hours or so necessary to do the match justice.
I did, however, find the time to watch the complete match between Sport and la Liga, and it was a wonderful and emotional contest. I hope my report gives a sense of how it went for those who weren't able to watch.
Valeu Sport!
1' Liga take the kickoff and right away they blast the ball forward - they have good size so they may be looking to bully Sport in the air. Sure enough Reasco makes a very rough play trying to head Sport's clearance back in and is called for a foul on Dutra. Could have been an early card - he definitely had the elbow up.
4' The foreign-language Fox broadcasts have a weird (to me, at least) convention of showing the group table as if the current game had already concluded at the current score. Took me a minute to figure this out as Sport definitely does NOT have 4 points after only one match.
5' Ciro obstructed and dumped in the box, but not enough for a penalty. Good no-call. Moacir looks good early, quick feet and decisive with the ball.
6' Ciro carted off after a painful-looking noggin-knocker on a header just outside the Liga box. Both defenses having trouble in the air, giving up lots of free kicks in dangerous positions.
9' Wilson is not good.
12' Paulo Baier's steal near the center circle sets up the first really good buildup of the day for Sport. After a couple of ball reversals Ciro finds daylight in the right half of the box and his flick-on of a high ball causes some confusion but it's covered by Cevallos before Wilson can get to it. Cevallos is yelling at one of the defenders for crowding him.
14' Liga inexplicably botches a throw-in and suddenly they are on the back foot. Moacir does his best to set Dutra up on the overlap down the right-hand channel, but Dutra makes a mess of it and Moacir has to swoop in to win the ball back along the endline. After Liga knocks it into touch, the ball is swung around to Daniel, who sees an opening and slides it in to Ciro. The ball is knocked away by a well-timed slide, but Daniel is on it, running toward the box! His pass to a well-marked Paulo Baier is knocked straight back to him and he hits a right-foot shot first time... GGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL!!!!!!!!!! Daniel, listed on the roster as a defender, but apparently playing as a defensive midfielder, has gone in and Sport is in front 1-0. It looked as if Cevallos may have had a chance to knock it away but if so he was not up to it as it bounded past him into the net.
15' La Liga must be shellshocked. After they had perhaps the slightly better of the play in the first third of the period, to go behind so suddenly is a real killer. Still, they have to be optimistic that they will have their chances to get back into the match as Sport haven't shown they can keep LDU out of the attacking zone.
18' OK, no, Fox is just confused. Now they're showing Sport with 7 points. Wha?!?!
20' Fox makes a third attempt to show the group table - wrong again. How about just show the match?
22' Sport settling into a strategy I like when ahead - long driving shots from behind the formation. Unfortunately Hamilton and Dutra seem to be terrible at long distance shooting so they aren't causing any problem.
23' Manso, for his part, seems to have decided that Liga's best chance is for him to flop around on the ground like a speared fish any time someone comes near him. So far the referee doesn't seem to be buying it.
27' Dutra makes a nice move to free himself on the left side, but Paulo Baier can't catch up to the pass and Ciro, who looks a step slow today, isn't in position to get off a good shot coming back to the ball.
31' The momentum is all with Sport as Liga seem to have lost a bit of steam. The intensity level is still high, but now it's taking the form of hard fouls. You wonder if a yellow card is coming soon.
32' Paulo Baier wins the sweepstakes! He's booked for a clumsy challenge on Manso, who of course makes a meal of it. It was, admittedly, a rough play.
33' Now it's Hamilton who's booked, again for fouling Manso. The official gives a stern warning - he's decided the play has gotten too rough. I can't say I disagree, but I would point out that cuts both ways.
34' Liga looking very ragged as they twice allow Ciro freedom to work inside the penalty area, but only the second yields a shot - nice save by Cevallos and a corner.
35' Wilson is not good.
36' After Manso finally gets a warning for his shameless flopping, Liga has their first good chance in a while on a shot by Bieler just outside the area, but he pushes it wide. Magrao didn't appear beaten but it would have been a difficult save.
43' Moacir with a brilliant run into the center of the box, but he took on one too many people. The ensuing struggle yields a shot by Wilson that might have hit the goal if the goal were the size of Lagoa Dos Patos.
45+' Paulo Baier decides to get in on the flopping act and wins a ridiculous free kick on the right edge of the area, but the free kick is hit into the wall and the half ends with Sport up one-nil.
I did, however, find the time to watch the complete match between Sport and la Liga, and it was a wonderful and emotional contest. I hope my report gives a sense of how it went for those who weren't able to watch.
Valeu Sport!
1' Liga take the kickoff and right away they blast the ball forward - they have good size so they may be looking to bully Sport in the air. Sure enough Reasco makes a very rough play trying to head Sport's clearance back in and is called for a foul on Dutra. Could have been an early card - he definitely had the elbow up.
4' The foreign-language Fox broadcasts have a weird (to me, at least) convention of showing the group table as if the current game had already concluded at the current score. Took me a minute to figure this out as Sport definitely does NOT have 4 points after only one match.
5' Ciro obstructed and dumped in the box, but not enough for a penalty. Good no-call. Moacir looks good early, quick feet and decisive with the ball.
6' Ciro carted off after a painful-looking noggin-knocker on a header just outside the Liga box. Both defenses having trouble in the air, giving up lots of free kicks in dangerous positions.
9' Wilson is not good.
12' Paulo Baier's steal near the center circle sets up the first really good buildup of the day for Sport. After a couple of ball reversals Ciro finds daylight in the right half of the box and his flick-on of a high ball causes some confusion but it's covered by Cevallos before Wilson can get to it. Cevallos is yelling at one of the defenders for crowding him.
14' Liga inexplicably botches a throw-in and suddenly they are on the back foot. Moacir does his best to set Dutra up on the overlap down the right-hand channel, but Dutra makes a mess of it and Moacir has to swoop in to win the ball back along the endline. After Liga knocks it into touch, the ball is swung around to Daniel, who sees an opening and slides it in to Ciro. The ball is knocked away by a well-timed slide, but Daniel is on it, running toward the box! His pass to a well-marked Paulo Baier is knocked straight back to him and he hits a right-foot shot first time... GGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL!!!!!!!!!! Daniel, listed on the roster as a defender, but apparently playing as a defensive midfielder, has gone in and Sport is in front 1-0. It looked as if Cevallos may have had a chance to knock it away but if so he was not up to it as it bounded past him into the net.
15' La Liga must be shellshocked. After they had perhaps the slightly better of the play in the first third of the period, to go behind so suddenly is a real killer. Still, they have to be optimistic that they will have their chances to get back into the match as Sport haven't shown they can keep LDU out of the attacking zone.
18' OK, no, Fox is just confused. Now they're showing Sport with 7 points. Wha?!?!
20' Fox makes a third attempt to show the group table - wrong again. How about just show the match?
22' Sport settling into a strategy I like when ahead - long driving shots from behind the formation. Unfortunately Hamilton and Dutra seem to be terrible at long distance shooting so they aren't causing any problem.
23' Manso, for his part, seems to have decided that Liga's best chance is for him to flop around on the ground like a speared fish any time someone comes near him. So far the referee doesn't seem to be buying it.
27' Dutra makes a nice move to free himself on the left side, but Paulo Baier can't catch up to the pass and Ciro, who looks a step slow today, isn't in position to get off a good shot coming back to the ball.
31' The momentum is all with Sport as Liga seem to have lost a bit of steam. The intensity level is still high, but now it's taking the form of hard fouls. You wonder if a yellow card is coming soon.
32' Paulo Baier wins the sweepstakes! He's booked for a clumsy challenge on Manso, who of course makes a meal of it. It was, admittedly, a rough play.
33' Now it's Hamilton who's booked, again for fouling Manso. The official gives a stern warning - he's decided the play has gotten too rough. I can't say I disagree, but I would point out that cuts both ways.
34' Liga looking very ragged as they twice allow Ciro freedom to work inside the penalty area, but only the second yields a shot - nice save by Cevallos and a corner.
35' Wilson is not good.
36' After Manso finally gets a warning for his shameless flopping, Liga has their first good chance in a while on a shot by Bieler just outside the area, but he pushes it wide. Magrao didn't appear beaten but it would have been a difficult save.
43' Moacir with a brilliant run into the center of the box, but he took on one too many people. The ensuing struggle yields a shot by Wilson that might have hit the goal if the goal were the size of Lagoa Dos Patos.
45+' Paulo Baier decides to get in on the flopping act and wins a ridiculous free kick on the right edge of the area, but the free kick is hit into the wall and the half ends with Sport up one-nil.
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