League Play-Off

Estadio Mercador
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Viriato Baptista made the kick off which started today's match. 5 minutes into the game, Viriato Baptista cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Heitor Macedo was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. When Paulo Luz fell near the penalty area in the 10th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Gondramaz FC's protests and gave Paulo Luz a yellow card for diving instead. In the 10th minute, Paulo Luz hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 11th minute of the match Rui Ramos shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Vicente Vieira showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Heitor Macedo took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Eusébio Leiria, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 20th minute, Eusébio Leiria ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Heitor Macedo was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-2. António Delgado sent away a hard shot on goal in the 25th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Ricardo Luz fell near the penalty area in the 26th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Gondramaz FC's protests and gave Ricardo Luz a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to Gondramaz FC getting a freekick after 26 minutes play. Ricardo Luz hit a great ball. Mercador's Heitor Macedo played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Viriato Baptista in the 34th minute of play. Vicente Vieira showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Augusto Freitas in the 40th minute of the match. Eusébio Leiria received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 43rd minute. Heitor Macedo tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Eusébio Leiria sent away a hard shot on goal in the 46th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-2.

The wind increased when Augusto Freitas made the kick off in the second half. After having played for 53 minutes, Ricardo Ferro managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Gondramaz FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Ricardo Ferro was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The supporters of Mercador booed when Gondramaz FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 60 match minutes in a wonderful position. Américo Lisboa didn't get a good kick on the ball. When Rui Ramos came up free with the goalie in the 61st minute, the Mercador fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Rui Ramos couldn't finish the play. After 63 played minutes Gondramaz FC got a freekick which was hit by Ricardo Ferro. The Mercador fans' excitement grew in the 65th match minute when Mercador's António Delgado looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 1-2 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. In the 69th minute, Eusébio Leiria left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Gondramaz FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-3. António Delgado sent away a hard shot on goal in the 75th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Vicente Vieira stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of António Delgado's shot from short distance in the 77th minute. In the 78th match minute, Mercador was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Augusto Freitas to maneuver through the defense. Eusébio Leiria sent away a hard shot on goal in the 80th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a defensive mix-up in Mercador's zone, Eusébio Leiria stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Heitor Macedo came out of the goal and Eusébio Leiria tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play.