João de Deus on his side's loss to Sp. Braga B

"It was more of the same. Particularly in the second-half we created chances to score, but we just couldn't", opened João de Deus in his post-match press conference after the 1-0 loss to Sp. Braga B this weekend.

For the Sporting B coach, there was a lot to reflect on: "We showed quality in creating opportunities, but we failed with our finishing while our opponent made the most of theirs. We are frustrated with the result, but we will carry on working. It was just through a bit of inefficiency that we didn't score. We have won a couple of times through a bit of luck and today we lost because we were missing a bit of it."

“We have some important players our injured and some have left, so we have had to create a new dynamic in the squad. I think that everything will be back to normal given a bit of time. All we are missing is putting the ball in the back of the net", finished João de Deus.

Sporting B skipper reflects on his side's loss to Sp. Braga B

Francisco Geraldes received his award for November's II Liga Player of the Month, after his side's 1-0 loss to Sp. Braga B. Speaking at the final whistle, the Alvalade midfielder put the result down to missed chances.

“What was missing for us to get a different result was us converting our chances. We didn't create as many as we would have liked, but we didn't score from any of them. It would be worse if we didn't create any chances and all that is missing is a bit of concentration."

Francisco Geraldes was named Player of the Month on the 17th of December with 7.46% of votes cast, ahead of Gleison (FC Porto B, 6.95%) and Platiny (Feirense, 6.74%).

Sporting B slip to defeat on II Liga matchday 23

Sporting B lost out to Sp. Braga B 1-0 at the Sporting Academy, on II Liga matchday 23. João de Deus' side created more than enough chances to claim the spoils at the final whistle, however a clinical touch proved lacking in front of goal.

The game got off to a lukewarm start, with neither side threatening in the final third with the exception of a dangerous shot from Dramé that ended up in the side-netting and a clearance from Francisco Geraldes that thankfully finished up wide of his own goal.

The midfield battle finally broke in the 32nd minute, when Dramé found space down the right and put in a deep cross for Sacko, only for the Alvalade forward to put his header wide. Down the other end, Carlos Fortes put Braga B ahead after the visitors had won back possession in the area.

Sporting B took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second-half, but a ruthless streak in front of goal was missing and chance after chance went wanting. On 48 minutes, Sacko missed two golden opportunities: firstly from a header after a cross from Francisco Geraldes; then after some battling work in the area that was eventually smothered by the Braga B keeper, Tiago Pereira.

João de Deus responded by pushing his team into a more offensive footing, changing Zezinho for Fokobo and a few minutes later Cissé was put into the attack along side Ponde in an unusual 4x2x4 shape. On 62 minutes Francisco Geraldes saw a shot from range stopped by Tiago Pereira, before Sacko squandered another opportunity to equalise.

The last 20 minutes saw Braga B completely pegged back into their defensive third, but chances for Cissé in the 84th minute and Mama Baldé and Diogo Salomão in added-time were all unable to do justice to the final score.

Sporting B miss out in Guimarães on II Liga matchday 22

Sporting B slipped to a narrow defeat Guimarães against Vitória B this weekend, with the hosting claiming the points after a 1-o win.

With the midfield looking heavier with the introduction of Fokobo in place of Ryan Gauld and an attack spearheaded by the speed of Sacko (in place of Labyad), João de Deus' side made a solid start to the encounter and constructed a chance for Francisco Geraldes that Palha responded well to. Vitória B responded and Tyler Boyd had an opportunity down the other end, before Geraldes and Podence both could have opening the scoring before half-time.

Sporting B completely dominated the action after the break and Ponde had a decent chance to put his side ahead in the 52nd minute. However, the tone of the afternoon was soon changed when Daniel Podence was shown a red card for alleged aggression against Castro with an hour on the clock. The hosts made the most of the numerical advantage and took the lead in the 79th minute though Bruno Mendes after some persistent work in the 18-yard box.

The result sees Sporting B drop to fifth place over all in II Liga, with 35 points.

Duarte Oliveira for II Liga matchday 22

Duarte Oliveira, 34, from the Braga Football Association, has been named to take charge of Sporting B's visit to Guimarães, on II Liga matchday 22.

Nuno Fernandes and Licínio Vieira will act as linesmen.

V. Guimarães B-Sporting B will get underway at 15h00 on Sunday, in Estádio Dom Afonso Henriques, Guimarães.

Midfielder scoops II Liga nomination

Francisco Geraldes has been named as the II Liga Player of the Month for November. In the competition promoted by Liga Portugal and Samsung, the Alvalade midfielder tallied 7.46% of the vote.

To win, Francisco Geraldes beat of competition from Gleison (FC Porto B, 6.95%) and Platiny (Feirense, 6.74%).

João de Deus on his side's loss to FC Porto B

Speaking at the final whistle on Monday night, João de Deus accepted that his side's 4-0 defeat was largely deserved, after a forgettable 90 minutes.

"The result was fair, because FC Porto B were the better side. We were punished for what we did here today. We let in early goals with some individual slips. We worked on preparing for this game, but we couldn't stop our opponent on the day", said the Sporting B coach.

Sporting B skipper Sambinha also commented on the influence of defensive errors on the final result: "We made a lot of mistakes and we will need to improve. Now we will focus on the coming match against Guimarães B."

Sporting B slip to defeat on II Liga matchday 21

Sporting B slipped to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of FC Porto B this Monday night, on II Liga match day 21.

The first opportunity of the game came after five minutes, when André Soares controlled well from a cross by Rafa Soares to open the scoring. A largely chanceless spell followed, before FC Porto B doubled their lead in the 21st minute through André Silva. Sporting B fought hard to get back into the encounter before te break and a rocket off a shot from Francisco Geraldes was only denied by a great save from João Costa, before Labyad also came close with a free-kick.

The restart saw FC Porto B effectively sentence Sporting B to defeat, when Ismael Díaz made it three-nil following a corner. Drained and trailing by three, João de Deus' side were largely powerless to react for the rest of the encounter and let in a fourth six minutes after the hour mark through Rafa Soares.

The result sees Sporting B drop to 4th in II Liga, with 35 points.

Sérgio Piscarreta named for II Liga matchday 21

Sérgio Piscarreta, 32, from the Algarve Football Association, has been named to take charge of II Liga matchday 21 between FC Porto B and Sporting B.

Valter Pereira and Rui Cidade will act as linesmen, with Cristiano Pires as the 4th official.

This will be Sérgio Piscarreta's second time in charge of a Sporting B encounter, following the 0-0 draw against Feirense.

FC Porto B-Sporting B will kick off at 19h00 on Monday the 14th of December, in the Jorge Sampaio Municipal Stadium, Vila Nova de Gaia.

Ponde strike secures three points a week ahead of encounter with FC Porto B

Sporting B fought to a battling 1-0 win over Desp. Aves this Wednesday afternoon, II Liga matchday 20.

Just as coach João de Deus had predicted in his pre-match press conference, the match was indeed decided in the detail, particularly by fatigue setting in after the break.

The encounter's opening opportunity belonged to Alexandre Guedes in the 12th minute, triggering a spell of play that saw Sporting B begin to unlock what was always going to be a stubborn Desp. Aves defence. On 25 minutes, Cristian Ponde opened the scoring after making the most of a failed shot by Labyad following some brilliant play by Ryan Gauld down the left. Six minutes before the break Pedró hammered a shot off Pedro Silva's bar, before two completely uncalled for heavy tackles on Podence and Mama Baldé left a blemish on the game, particularly after the horrific injuries picked up earlier in the season by Riquicho and King from similar circumstances.

Desp. Aves looked better in the second-half and came close to an equaliser on several occasions, particularly from deadball situations. However, Sporting B weathered the storm and again took a grip of proceedings going in to the last fifteen minutes. Sacko and Labyad both came close, before Quim tried an effort from range. Desp. Aves did actually have the ball in the back of the net at the death, but the goal was rightly ruled out for offside and Sporting B came away with the narrow win at the final whistle.