League Play-Off

Estadio 1º de Maio
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) João Luz made the kick off and thus started the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rui Sanches in the 9th minute of play forced SL Benfica's goalkeeper Cristóvão Castro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 13th minute, André Bragança made a precise shot to the right of Cristóvão Castro. SL Benfica's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. Cristóvão Castro showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Aristides Coelho, who was totally free with the ball in the 26th minute. A collision led to Sport Lisboa e Benfica getting a freekick after 31 minutes play. Jorge Infante hit a great ball. João Luz's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 32ndth minute, Mariano Bernardes skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. Cristóvão Castro showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rui Sanches in the 34th minute of the match. Cristóvão Castro showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Rui Sanches, who was totally free with the ball in the 36th minute. Sport Lisboa e Benfica's Mariano Bernardes played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by João Luz in the 39th minute of play. In the 40th minute, Eusébio Vieira hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Rui Sanches was the one to do the kick off. Cristóvão Castro showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rui Sanches in the 58th minute of the match. SL Benfica were furious when Eusébio Vieira was red carded, 61 minutes into the game, but the referee dismissed their protests. 60 minutes into the game, one of SL Benfica:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. After some fancy dribbling in the 66th minute, Nuno Cabral managed to get in a good position for a shot. SL Benfica's supporters rose to their feet, but Nuno Cabral was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Mariano Bernardes breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Ricardo Dias might have been able to make a better finish in the 67th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Mariano Bernardes. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Ricardo Dias ran back to his position shaking his head. After 75 minutes, João Luz mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the SL Benfica and the Sport Lisboa e Benfica players grew even worse after the yellow card. João Luz kicked well hit freekick during the 75th minute of the match. When Nuno Cabral came up free with the goalie in the 78th minute, the SL Benfica 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 Nuno Cabral couldn't finish the play. In the 82nd minute of the match, André Bragança got a very nice opportunity to score, but Cristóvão Castro was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. André Bragança could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 85th minute of the match, but Cristóvão Castro made a huge save. Cristóvão Castro was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Aristides Coelho showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 1-3 in the 88 minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rui Sanches in the 92nd minute of play forced SL Benfica's goalkeeper Cristóvão Castro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 97 minutes into the match, SL Benfica's goal looked a bit too open when Rui Sanches came free, but Cristóvão Castro reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ricardo Dias charged in rather forcefully in the 98th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ricardo Dias the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 98th minute, Ricardo Dias hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Sport Lisboa e Benfica eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.