Sporting CP play out a 1-0 triumph in the preseason fixture

In a Monday friendly that ended their preseason training camp in Lagos, Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Sunderland AFC 1-0, with Francisco Trincão scoring the only game of the contest.

The game was undertaken at a relatively slow pace, typical of this stage of the preparations for the new season, and the opening minutes passed without any major incidents, as both teams studied each other.

Conrad Harder provided the first breakthrough, as the Dane sprinted down the left off a pass from Zeno Debast, entered the area, rounded goalkeeper Blondy Nna Nouke and set up Trincão, who just needed to tap the ball in to open the scoring.

More composed after the goal, Sporting CP took control of the game, moving the ball around in the midfield and injecting some speed into the action, with Pedro Gonçalves, Trincão and Geovany Quenda alternating positions in the attacking setup. However, the team failed to create any real danger, stifled by Sunderland AFC's high press.

From the 20th minute onwards, the English side began to move higher upfield -albeit failing to trouble goalkeeper Rui Silva, who easily dealt with shots from Eliezer Mayenda and Chemsdine Talbi.

He had more to do five minutes before half-time, when he denied Habib Diarra with a top-notch save.

Close to the interval, following a corner, Gonçalves had a good opportunity to extend the lead. The ball bounced towards the midfielder, who tried to shoot but struck way off target.

The second half began with Sunderland AFC showing freshness, having completely overhauled their starting eleven. Meanwhile, Sporting CP remained unchanged.

It took just three minutes for Quenda to shake things up. Off a swift attack down the right, the winger forced Blondy Nna Nouke into a last ditch stop.

Shortly after, in the 55th minute Trincão made away on a quick transition. He delivered the ball to Gonçalves, wide open on the left. The No.8 tried to break through the sea of Sunderland players, but was eventually closed down.

Seven minutes later, following a set piece, Gonçalves was presented with another chance, which went wide.

Trincão curled a beautiful shot that grazed the right post, and Quenda smashed an effort that required a save from the Cameroonian goalkeeper.

On 74 minutes, Rayan Lucas came on, replacing Hidemasa Morita, with Diogo Travassos later stepping in for Eduardo Quaresma. Both youngsters took the opportunity to show Rui Borges their worth.

Harder remained active, despite the many kilometres he had accumulated throughout the match. The tireless Dane once again threatened with a run at speed from the left, which spun into the side netting.

Quenda was fouled close to the penalty area late on, and Trincão opted for a clever shot from the free kick, looking for his brace. The ball went just wide of goal, leaving the score at 1-0.

Sporting CP: Rui Silva [GK], Matheus Reis (David Moreira, 90’), Hidemasa Morita (Rayan Lucas, 74’), Zeno Debast, Geovany Quenda, Pedro Gonçalves, Francisco Trincao, Conrad Harder, Gonçalo Inácio, Morten Hjulmand [C] and Eduardo Quaresma (Diogo Travassos, 77’).