João de Deus on his side's Ledman LigaPro matchday 31 draw

Speaking in a flash interview at the final whistle of Sunday's 1-1 draw with Freamunde, coach João de Deus praised his team for battling on, despite being a man down for the entire second-half.

“Sporting lost two points today. Eleven against eleven, we were the better side and we played with the most quality. We looked strong down the wings and we had a lot of chances. Kikas was sent off and we lost a man, but after we made some tactical changes I think we played as a team. Freamunde had possession, but they didn't really have any clear chances on goal. We let in a goal from an individual mistake, but we recovered. After we scored I think a different result would have been fairer, with the tactical intelligence that we showed", said the Sporting B coach at the final whistle.

Sporting B claim a draw after playing the full second-half with ten men

Sporting B were held to a 1-1 draw by Freamunde this Sunday, on Ledman LigaPro matchday 31.

João de Deus' side made made a solid start to the afternoon, creating a chance on goal in the very first minute after Filipe Chaby battled back possession in midfield. The Sporting B number 43 then pushed out wide to the left and whipped a cross in for Geraldes, who came up just inches short of opening the scoring. Long spells of possession for the hosts starved Freamunde of any real chance to gain momentum going forward, but Francisco Geraldes, Ryan Gauld and Kikas, not being the biggest midfielders in the league, were having a tough time holding on to the ball in the centre of the park. On 11 minutes, Francisco Geraldes charged down the right flank and skillfully flicked the ball over his marker, but the midfielder was only able to drive his subsequent shot at the visiting keeper.

Daniel Podence and Francisco Geraldes were looking particularly dangerous out on the wings and spearheaded most of the Sporting B attacking efforts, while the afternoon's visitors looked happy to sit back and go forward through the occasional break. The next major opportunity came on 21 minutes, but Betinho, inside the 12-yard box, was unable to finish on Daniel Podence's pass after Geraldes had again carved up ground down the right. João de Deus' side were then dealt what has become a regular setback this season, when Kikas was shown a second yellow card just before the break. The resulting red card obliged the Sporting B boss to make sacrifices in attack, bringing on Zezinho to bolster the midfield. With an extra man, Freamunde took advantage of the extra space and began to move the ball around with a little more freedom.

The first few minutes of the second-half were a struggle for Sporting B and after 60 seconds Ivan Perez was allowed a chance on goal that ended up in the side netting. Freamunde began to turn up the intensity and actually took the lead after a decisive counter-attack. Celeste put a cross in from the right and Ivan Perez popped up in the area with a shot that was initially stopped by Stojkovic as the Alvalade defence appealed for offside, but the referee waved play on and Diogo Ramos had the enviable task of tapping in the subsequent rebound.

Despite being a man, as well as a goal, down, Sporting B rallied and took the fight to Freamunde. The introduction of Mama Baldé for Chaby gave a drop of extra speed to Sporting B and play was soon being held down in the visitors' half. Freamunde really dropped the pace in the last twenty minutes despite being a man up and Sporting B responded by forcing through the middle. Daniel Podence was brought down for a free-kick and Francisco Geraldes, without so much as a run-up, curved the ball into the top corner. There was still time for the referee to award a penalty to Freamunde, but Pedrinho blazed the spot-kick a good few yards high over the bar.

The result keeps Sporting B in 12th in Ledman LigaPro.

João Bento Named for Ledman LigaPro matchday 31

João Bento, 32, from the Santarém Football Association, has been named to take charge of Sporting CP B-Freamunde, on Ledman LigaPro matchday 31.

Nuno Henrique Ferreira and Samuel Dionísio will act as linesmen.

This will be João Bento's second Sporting B match of the season, following the matchday 5 draw against Portimonense.

Sporting CP B-Freamunde will kick off at 15h00 on Sunday the 21st of February, at the Sporting Academy.

Sporting B defeated in Matosinhos on matchday 30

Sporting B slipped to a 3-1 away loss to Leixões this Wednesday, on Ledman LigaPro matchday 30.

The hosts essentially had the final result decided in the first 20 minutes, striking twice courtesy of Slim (13’) and Pedras (20’). Sporting rallied and pulled one back before half-time Betinho (41’), but a a third goal for Leixões through Pedras (66’) halted any idea of a comeback.

The result sees Sporting B move down into 12th place with 39 points. João de Deus' side will next be in action against Freamunde on Sunday, at 15h00.

Matheus Pereira scores twice in Sporting B revival

It isn't normal for a sending off to damage the side who enjoys the numerical advantage, but that was certainly the case at the Sporting Academy this Saturday. In the words of Oriental coach João Barbosa: "We controlled the game until we went a man up. After that we just weren't the same team." In fact, Sporting scored three goals after Dramé's red card, although there had been no shortage of chances beforehand..

It was Dramé who has the first chances of the afternoon, first from a free-kick and then following a break instigated by Betinho, but he was unable to capitalise pn either. Domingos Duarte also pulled a fine stop out of the Oriental keeper Mota, following a corner. Down the other end, Oriental created a decent opportunity that Pedro Silva did well to deny. Then game the moment that really defined the afternoon, when Dramé was given his marching orders for a hard tackle. According to Francisco Barão in his press conference, that saw Sporting begin banging the ball up for Betinho, unlocking the Oriental resistance.

You would have expected the visitors to dominate after the break, given their extra man and Sporting B's recent run of form, but the complete opposite happened. Oriental opened the second-half with their best chance on goal with a header that finished off target, but from then on João de Deus' side clicked into gear.

After Podence wasted a golden opportunity, Betinho picked up a loose ball in the area and slotted the afternoon's opener. João de Deus responded instantly to the precious lead, taking off Betinho and introducting Chaby.

The tactical fine-tuning did just the trick and the midfield trio of Bubacar Djaló, Ryan Gauld and Chaby smartly went about bossing territory, while Matheus Pereira and Podence began picking holes in the Oriental defence. A bit of indecisive defending saw a clearance land with Podence, who carried the ball forward before Matheus rounded the keeper for the second goal of the encounter. In the dying stages another bit of play between Matheus, Podence and Chaby saw the latter brought down in the area for a penalty that Matheus Pereira netted to set the final result at 3-0. 

Mica Pinto's reaction to Sporting B's loss in the Algarve

Mica Pinto was again handed the captain's armband this weekend, this time for Sporting B's 2-0 loss to Portimonense. Speaking at the final whistle, the left-back proved confident that his side will soon be back to winning form in II Liga.

“We had 45 really good minutes and even when Portimonense still had eleven players we were hitting them on the counter-attack. When they went down to ten, we took a few more risks and it caused problems for us. Their goals came from individual errors and we have to accept them and dix them. This isn't a good period for us, but I have been here four years now and a phase like this always happens during the season. With hard work we will try and turn it around in our next game", said Pinto at the final whistle.

João de Deus on Sporting B's loss in Portimão

João de Deus was understandably disappointed with his side's loss to Portimonense this Saturday, however the Sporting B coach was also keen to point out the positives for a team looking for form.

“What was missing was us scoring when we had chances. We had some good opportunities and we were in front of goal three or for times, but we didn't score and when that happens you end up conceding. It was a hard game for us, because we were comfortable and our opponent only had three chances. The result isn't a reflection of what happened, but that is our fault", opened Deus, adding: "We have to carry on. I saw spirit in the lads today. They were more organised and players coming in during the transfer window is going to help us."

To finish, the Sporting B coach compared his side's current spell to a blip in form last season: "Las season we had a similar phase, but we lifted ourselves us and almost finished the league brilliantly. I believe we will do the same this season as well."

Sporting B sank by two second-half strikes

Sporting B were unable to turn around their recent II Liga form this weekend, with a 2-0 loss to Portimonense seeing João de Deus' side tally their seventh defeat in eight outings.

After a start-stop opening to the encounter, Podence fired off the first shot in 13th minute following a move with Ryan Gauld. The young Scotsman had a chance of his own four minutes later, but his effort lacked the pace to trouble the keeper. Looking particularly dangerous down the right, João de Deus' side were moulding some decent chances going forward and on 29 minutes Betinho could have opened the scoring, but for Ricardo Ferreira's heroics one-on-one.

Ewerton was shown a straight red a minute later, after a tackle on Domingos Duarte and Sporting B were given more breathing room in the build-up, but the team from Alvalade struggled to find the dept to do any damage to the scoreboard.

In the second-half Betinho again had a chance after linking up with a Ryan Gauld and Dramé, but the final product finished the wrong side of the post. Portimonense continued to dominated possession, but it was the introduction of Zambujo to the host's midfield that finally tipped the encounter. The midfielder opened the scoring in the 64th minute with a strike from outside the area, before winning a penalty five minutes from time that Ricardo Pessoa converted on.

The result leaves Sporting B on 36 points in II Liga.

Hadi Sacko loan to FC Sochaux

Sporting Clube de Portugal, Futebol SAD has reached an agreement with FC Sochaux for the loan of Hadi Sacko until June 2016.

Sporting SAD wishes Sacko the best of personal and professional success.

Domingos Duarte on Sporting B's 3-1 loss to Sp. Covilhã

"We started badly. We let in a goal and 10 minutes later we let in another one. In the second-half we showed we have a chance to do better in future", said Domingos Duarte after his side's 3-1 loss to Sp. Covilhã this Sunday, finishing: "Our goal lifted us a bit and in the second-half we attacked, but we just couldn't find a second or third goal. We have been working on defending set-pieces, but it didn't go well for us today. It was individual mistakes, but we will get better."