Sporting B defeated after two penalties and two red cards

Sporting B suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Desp. Aves this Saturday. Tarcisio, Nelson Pedroso and Fernando Silva were on target for the visitors, in an afternoon which saw Tomas Rukas and Ivanildo Fernandes sent off. Aves' last two goals were scored from the penalty spot.

João de Deus on his side's win against Benfica B

The Sporting B coach was understandably pleased with his side's dominating showing against Benfica B this Sunday.

“It was above all else a great exhibition with a full crowd. People who have been watching us for a while have seen us go through a tough spell, but today we were brilliant. The only thing missing was more goals, because we could have scored three or four with the way we played. It is a real pleasure to manage these players", affirmed João de Deus at the final whistle, adding: "Our strategy was basically to force Benfica to play wide, because that is exactly where they do not feel comfortable. We played an almost perfect game, with the exception of the penalty that Stojkovic saved."

Matheus Pereira strikes twice to beat Benfica in B derby

João de Deus' side put in a dominating performance against Benfica B this Sunday, keeping Sporting's Lisbon rivals in the relegation zone in the process. Matheus Pereira stole the show with two strikes, however Daniel Podence was also key to unlocking the Benfica B defence with the crucial pass for both goals.

The first-half got off to a slow start, with Benfica attempting to build from the back against a Sporting side that did a fine job of pestering the visitors with some high pressure defending. With the ball at their feet, Sporting B looked extremely dangerous and it wasn't long before chances on goal followed. The first came from a bursting run down the left flank by Podence, but Gauld should have done better when connecting with the resulting cross.

A couple of minutes later, it was the same formula out wide that drew a penalty and the first goal of the afternoon, when a Benfica defender cut out Podence's cross with his arm. Matheus Pereira stepped up for the conversion and the senior team regular smartly tucked away the chance. Benfica responded with one of their sparing chances of the afternoon, in fact with a penalty of their own, but Diogo Gonçalves was denied Stojkovic from the 12-yard spot.

Sporting dominated the result of the half with some strategic play and chances again began to creep in. Podence came up just inches short of a spectacular goal after some good link up play with Matheus, but the narrow lead maintained as the interval whistle sounded.

The second-half brought total dominance for João de Deus' charges, but the first chance actually fell to Benfica, when a well rehearsed corner called Stojkovic into action for possibly the best save of the encounter. The opportunity saw the visitors open up and Sporting wasted little time in exploiting the extra space, with Matheus' pace punishing Benfica with the skillful winger's second goal of the afternoon.

Although holding a 2-0 lead, Sporting continued to press, particularly after Ruben Dias was given his marching orders for a foul on Mama Baldé. Matheus Pereira and Daniel Podence again linked up late on for one final opportunity, but the Benfica keeper parried away for a corner.

Mama Baldé ahead of Sunday's derby

Mama Baldé has been one of Sporting B's star performers this season, despite being drafted in to right-back after having spent most of his career so far as a foward. Standing in front of Baldé and his side this weekend is Benfica B, however the Alvalade star fully expects Sporting B to tally yet another Ledman LigaPro win.

“We are still recovering from the game on Wednesday, but we will be ready for Benfica B. We have been training hard and we are expecting a win. Of course we have to win, but we don't feel under pressure", said Mama Baldé in an interview with Sporting TV, going on to refect on his season so far in his new position: "I think I have been playing alright. The coach has helped me a lot, just like the rest of the team. I am learning how to play in this new position. I don't feel under pressure and I like playing there."

Sporting CP B-Benfica B will get underway at 16h00 on Sunday the 17th of April, at the Sporting Academy.

Luís Godinho for Ledman LigaPro matchday 42

Luís Godinho, 30, from the Évora Football Association, has been named for Ledman LigaPro matchday 42, between Sporting B and Benfica B.

José Braga and Valter Rufo will act as linesmen

This will be Godinho's second Sporting B match of the season, after the matchday 18 hosting of  Ac. Viseu.

Sporting CP B-Benfica B will get underway at 16h00 on Sunday the 17th of April, at the Sporting Academy.

Sporting CP with two names in Sports Journalist Association list

João Mário and Adrien are included in a list of five players shortlisted for the Sports Journalist Association's 2016 Player of the Year Award. Also in the running are André André, Jonas and Rafa.

Sporting CP also had two players in the list for Revelation of the Year, namely Gelson Martins and the on-loan Iuri Medeiros. In the list for Ledman LigaPro player of the year, Sporting B's Francisco Geraldes is in the running along side André Silva, Ewerton, Pedrinho and Platiny.

Voting will take place on the 29th of April, with winners announced on the 2nd of May.

Fábio Martins double secures third consecutive win for Sporting B

Sporting continued in their rich streak of form this Wednesday afternoon, this time claiming Ac. Viseu as their victim on Ledman LigaPro matchday 41.

With Stojkovic, Mama Baldé, Domingos Duarte, Rukas, Rúben Ribeiro, Kikas, Fábio Martins, Ryan Gauld, Francisco Geraldes, Daniel Podence and Ponde chosen for the kick-off, Sporting B took the lead after 17 minutes, when Francisco Geraldes picked out Fábio Martins for the opener. The hosts responded a couple of minutes after the half-hour mark, courtesy of Zé Pedro, before Fábio Martins scored his second just seconds before the break after latching on to a driven cross by Podence.

Viseu pumped up the pressure in the second-half, but it was Sporting B who could have put the encounter to bed, had Francisco Geraldes converted on a one-on-one chance with the home keeper. Deep into injury time Stojkovic made an excellent save to ensure the points were all brought back to Alvalade.

João de Deus on his side's 2-0 win against Gil Vicente

João de Deus was understandably happy with his side's 2-0 win against Gil Vicente this weekend, although his side could well have won by a bigger margin.

"It was a completely deserved win. I think we showed a bit of tiredness after playing on Sunday, Wednesday and then Sunday again, but we still could have scored six or seven today. We didn't, but we are pushing up the table and I am obviously happy about that", said the Sporting B coach, adding a word on his team's progress thi season: "Some of the lads were struggling for a place a few months ago, but they have earned their opportunity and today they are consistent players. I don't like to point out individuals, but two examples of that are Rúben Ribeiro and Mama Baldé. They are consistent players who contribute to the overall quality of the team."

Daniel Podence reflects on Sporting B's win against Gil Vicente

One of the crucial pieces of Sporting B's recent string of results, Daniel Podence was again in fine form against Gil Vicente. Speaking with radio journalists following the afternoon's action, the young striker was keen to thank his teammates: "It is always nice to score and to play well, especially when the team wins, but if it wasn't for the rest of the team I wouldn't be able to live my dream. It was a great win against a really difficult team. It was really competitive and the first-half was really balanced, but we scored from a well rehearsed play and then Francisco Geraldes pulled off a brilliant pass to set me up."

Naldo and Podence on target to continue Sporting B revival

João de Deus was back on the bench this weekend after serving a suspension and the Sporting B coach's side paid tribute with yet another win in what is becoming a solid run of results. With a virtually unchanged 11 - the only alteration being the introduction of Nalo in place of Rukas - Sporting B again dominated, showing some classy stuff against one of Ledman LigaPro's stronger sides.

The encounter got off to a sluggish start, with neither team willing to risk too much going forward. The first notable opportunity came after a link up between Fábio Martins and Daniel Podence, but the former's shot ended up high of the cross bar. Gil Vicente's only chance of the half came a couple of minutes later, with a move down the right flank ending up in a dangerous cross that was however headed over.

The clearest chances were made to wait until jsut before half-time, both falling to Sporting B. The first came from a quick break lead by Podence after his side stole back possession, eventually releasing  Francisco Geraldes through on goal for a shot that pulled the best save of the half out of the keeper. The second came through Daniel Podence after an excellent cross from Rúben Ribeiro down the left, but the striker was unable to find the mark.

The second-half brought with it the expected forays forward for both sides in search of the three points. Opening proceedings was Francisco Geraldes with a shot just wide of the post, before Ryal Gauld found space out wide and floated in a cross that Naldo converted on to finally open the scoring. The goal actually opened up play even further and Gil Vicente took control for a spell as Sporting B fell back, however João de Deus' side were looking particularly cool when closing down the visitors' attacks and never really looked like conceding.

Gil Vicente's most notable spell came through a more physical approach to the afternoon, but it was Sporting B who struck. the visitors pushed a little to high in search of points and the team from Alvalade made the most of it to use the space off the back line. First Pondence put a shot wide, before turning creator and picking out Geraldes with a superb pass that the youngster carmly put past the stranded Gil Vicente keeper to seal the points.