The West derby had a little bit of everything, but CD Mafra adapted better, was lethal in attack, had a goalkeeper, the Icelandic Ólafsson, in great prominence and ended up beating Torreense 2-1.
Matchday 27 ended with a West derby, between two of the best teams in the Portugal SABSEG League. Torreense was the one who came in more bossy, took possession of the ball and created immense difficulties for Mafra with their pressure, so much so that the Mafraenses practically couldn’t get the ball in the first few minutes. However, Silas’s men managed to adjust, bringing the wingers closer to the center, creating that numerical advantage and changing the course of the game.
From then on, the home team began to grow with the ball, they were excellent in recovering and forced Torreense to play in transition. Mafra had good dynamism on the wings and created some danger, although almost always with crosses, especially from Miguel Sousa – he had a goal disallowed for offside. However, Torreense was more incisive with the ball, was lethal in the final third and created the best opportunity of the 1st half, with Correa, from outside the area, hitting the bar, in the 37th minute.
Everything was open for the 2nd half, but Mafra maintained its mentality and reached the goal early, at 52′, in a good transition, where Miguel Sousa crossed on the left of the area and found, at the second post, Diogo Almeida finishing for the 1-0. This early goal quickly changed the mentality of both teams and we once again saw Torreense taking the reins, while the Mafrenenses were lowering their lines. With this, opportunities arose for those from Torres Vedras, at a much greater rate than in the 1st half.
Tulipa’s men tried everything, in the various corridors, from outside the area, with crosses or plays inside, but nothing seemed possible or capable of beating the giant Ólafsson, who was incredible between the posts and collecting huge saves. Defending well, Mafra were lethal in the transition and expanded, after the 84th minute, with some happiness in the mix: Texel crossed low on the right, Elimbi approached the ball very poorly and put the ball in his own goal.
Torreense even responded well to 2-0 and reduced just three minutes later, in a well-worked move from the left and finished by the young debutant David Costa, but it ended up being too late, Ólafsson continued to be great in goal and CD Mafra ended up winning the Western Derby.
