League Play-Off

Fernando Pedrosa
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Dimas Castelo Branco got the match started through his kick off. In the 2nd minute, Vivaldo Guimarães hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 4th match minute, Atletico de RioTinto was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Dimas Castelo Branco to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sidónio Fidalgo in the 7th minute of play forced Atletico de RioTinto's goalkeeper Juliano Vale to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Dimas Castelo Branco fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 11th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mariano Vilanova having to interfere. Vivaldo Guimarães kicked well hit freekick during the 12th minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Almada Clube Portugal's zone, Dimas Castelo Branco stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Mariano Vilanova came out of the goal and Dimas Castelo Branco tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Silvestre Ruas could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 16th minute of the match, but Mariano Vilanova made a huge save. Atletico de RioTinto's Silvestre Ruas got a good chance for a goal in the 23rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Duarte Telinhos hit a great freekick 24 minutes into the match. 31 minutes into the game, Valter Domingues was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Atletico de RioTinto's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Almada Clube Portugal the free kick. Valter Domingues kicked well hit freekick during the 31st minute of the match. Dimas Castelo Branco fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 38th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mariano Vilanova having to interfere. Sidónio Fidalgo fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 42nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Juliano Vale having to interfere. Mariano Vilanova made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dimas Castelo Branco in the 45th minute of play. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Sidónio Fidalgo to make the kick off. Juliano Vale came out of the goal in the 52nd minute to try and stop a shot by Almada Clube Portugal's Ivo Macedo. But to his dismay, Ivo Macedo quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. Dimas Castelo Branco blasted a shot towards the goal in the 59th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Mariano Vilanova having to make a save. When Vivaldo Guimarães fell near the penalty area in the 61st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Almada Clube Portugal's protests and gave Vivaldo Guimarães a yellow card for diving instead. After a rather tough play, Almada Clube Portugal's Vivaldo Guimarães got a free kick in the 61st minute. Adérito Matias was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 62nd played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. Duarte Telinhos hit a great freekick 63 minutes into the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 64th minute, Dimas Castelo Branco managed to get in a good position for a shot. Atletico de RioTinto's supporters rose to their feet, but Dimas Castelo Branco was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Mariano Vilanova breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 68th minute Silvestre Ruas shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Mariano Vilanova saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Duarte Telinhos during the 71st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 71st minute, Duarte Telinhos hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Dimas Castelo Branco received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 74th minute. Mariano Vilanova tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Duarte Telinhos hit a great freekick 76 minutes into the match. In the 77th minute, Adérito Matias sent off a long shot on goal, but the shot was nowhere near the goal and Almada Clube Portugal's Mariano Vilanova didn't even have to move. Mariano Vilanova showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Silvestre Ruas, who was totally free with the ball in the 82nd minute. 84 minutes into the match, Almada Clube Portugal's goal looked a bit too open when Dimas Castelo Branco came free, but Mariano Vilanova reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a rather tough play, Almada Clube Portugal's Ilídio Salgueiro got a free kick in the 87th minute. If Dimas Castelo Branco had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 92nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Mariano Vilanova didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Dimas Castelo Branco went, in the 94th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-2 was the resulting score. Almada Clube Portugal were delighted with the way they had won the match. They had held their defensive line well and made the most of their chances, to claim a victory over Atletico de RioTinto's much stronger midfield.