Maintenance around the corner that costs less and less :: zerozero.pt

«It doesn’t hurt, Joca». A phrase immortalized on the internet due to a viral video and which fits perfectly with what happened in this game. The shot from the middle of Joca’s street, of course, opened the scoring and allowed only one catastrophe to take the team out of the I League in this final stretch of the championship. Emmanuel Boateng was responsible for providing another type of calm, while Nuno Santos reduced the score in the last minutes to 2-1.

Furthermore, it was a historic afternoon for the home team. With this triumph, they reached a new goal in terms of being unbeaten in this competition. Ten consecutive games allowed his name to be placed on the club’s golden page.

In relation to the last meeting of both teams, Luís Freire changed two pieces, as Renato Pantalon and João Graça took the places that belonged to Miguel Nóbrega and João Teixeira. On the other side, Álvaro Pacheco bet on Tiago Silva to occupy the position previously assigned to Nuno Santos, this time on the substitutes bench.

How do you get it!

We cannot start this chronicle without mentioning the spectacular atmosphere at Estádio dos Arcos. Rio Ave fans showed up in droves (if it wasn’t a full house, it was close by), while Vitória SC supporters sold out the bench they were entitled to along with flags, t-shirts and, above all, lots of chants of support.

Furthermore, there is no way to forget, of course, the rain that stopped throughout the first half. All together, it made it possible to create a beautiful show. Kaio César wanted to be the first protagonist of the afternoon in the first minute, but the Brazilian striker’s shot went wide. The initial warning was given.

As the minutes passed, another type of warning was given, but to the Victorian bench. Kaio César was the first to fall on the pitch, followed by some complaints from Tomás Ribeiro and then a short stop because of Tomás Handel. Everything was nothing more than a scare and the game continued without any major concerns.

The next major concern was contours near Jhonathan Luiz’s goal. Jota, without much preparation, hit the opposing net with a shot from the middle of the street, but the move ended up being invalidated due to the Portuguese being offside at the start of the play. They still shouted a goal, however, the assistant referee was right when canceling Guimarães’s advantage.

Now, if in the sentences above we talk about a shot without much preparation, we repeat the narrative again, but to describe the great goal from Joca. Yakubu Aziz (who left in the first half due to injury) cushioned the ball with his chest, the number 14 didn’t let the ball fall and shot into the goal defended by Bruno Varela. A fair advantage, it must be said, despite the few opportunities for both sides.

A Vitória SC with a lot of difficulties, especially in the construction from behind. Uncharacteristic, nervous and with some lack of confidence in actions. Not even Bruno Varela escaped some ball losses. On the other side, Rio Ave was also not spectacular, but managed to contain most of the chances of danger coming from the opponent.

Mistakes were expensive

We don’t know what Álvaro Pacheco said to his players at half-time, but the team in black and white came out with everything in the match. He arrived with danger two/three times in a row and put the club’s former goalkeeper to the test, who always got the better of duels with Kaio César and Tomás Handel.

But, shortly after, it was Rio Ave who took advantage… new inattention at Vitória SC. A loss of the ball resulted in the Rioavista attack, led by Mateo Tanlongo, who only had to assist Emmanuel Boateng. The Ghanaian, in a second phase, did what was most difficult and put in a perfect arc to make it 2-0.

Álvaro Pacheco messed with the pieces on the bench and «broke» the mobile attack made up of Kaio César and Jota Silva. Height of Nélson Oliveira, before Nuno Santos assumed the winger position for a 3-4-3. We cannot forget, of course, the return of Ricardo Mangas, who was off the pitch for a month.

Opportunity there, opportunity here, the match had no other highlights, except Nuno Santos’ good goal in added time. Rio Ave confirmed the three points and secured the best run ever in the championship. Ten consecutive games without tasting defeat. Remarkable, historic and maintenance that can still be achieved today: if Portimonense does not score against Sporting, Rio Ave will remain in the I Liga.