League Play-Off

Estadio Afife
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Henrique Alves took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 3rd minute, Vítor Lopes got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Armindo Leão showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Henrique Alves in the 6th minute of the match. Xavier Ferro's late challenge caught a Espinheiros FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Xavier Ferro helped the player get up and apologised. The audience was convinced that Henrique Alves's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Armindo Leão was relentless in the 13th minute of the game. 15 minutes into the match, Espinheiros FC's goalkeeper José Jesus had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Vítor Lopes. Armindo Leão stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Henrique Alves's shot from short distance in the 16th minute. Henrique Alves fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 19th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Armindo Leão having to interfere. Armindo Leão made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bruno Santos in the 24th minute of play. When Sérgio Vale fell near the penalty area in the 25th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Afife's protests and gave Sérgio Vale a yellow card for diving instead. After 25 played minutes Afife got a freekick which was hit by Sérgio Vale. André Ramos struck a weak shot in the 29th minute. José Jesus didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Afife. In the 37th minute of the match Pedro Porto sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Armindo Leão skillfully saved the ball. After 38 minutes of play Afife's Sérgio Vale was too eager in his attempt to stop his opponent and brought him down. With that he got his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. A collision led to Afife getting a freekick after 39 minutes play. Sérgio Vale hit a great ball. Vítor Lopes recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 46th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 1-0 at half-time.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Vítor Lopes to strike the kick off in the second half. After a defensive mix-up in Espinheiros FC's zone, Vítor Lopes stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. José Jesus came out of the goal and Vítor Lopes tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 57 minutes, Artur Castro mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Afife and the Espinheiros FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 58 played minutes Afife got a freekick which was hit by Artur Castro. After 59 played minutes Afife got a freekick which was hit by Vítor Lopes. After 62 played minutes Espinheiros FC got a freekick which was hit by Viriato Moniz. Vítor Lopes recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 64th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Hugo Anjos kicked well hit freekick during the 66th minute of the match. Bruno Santos might have been able to make a better finish in the 70th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Armindo Leão. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Bruno Santos ran back to his position shaking his head. When Vítor Lopes came up free with the goalie in the 72nd minute, the Afife 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 Vítor Lopes couldn't finish the play. Miguel Paredes kicked well hit freekick during the 75th minute of the match. Espinheiros FC's Hugo Anjos couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 76th minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for Afife. In the 77th minute, Henrique Alves fired away a shot on goal. He put a little to much spin on the ball and sent it just wide of the right post. A hard shot 78 in the game by Bruno Santos from a close distance when the talented Armindo Leão managed to make a qualified save. Afife's players were relieved. Miguel Paredes hit a great freekick 81 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Henrique Alves in the 85th minute of play forced Afife's goalkeeper Armindo Leão to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 90th minute of the match Hugo Anjos sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Armindo Leão skillfully saved the ball. Miguel Paredes was shown his second yellow card after 93 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. The supporters of Espinheiros FC booed when Afife was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 93 match minutes in a wonderful position. Miguel Paredes didn't get a good kick on the ball. Afife's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.