João de Deus on his side's draw with Mafra

Sporting B were held to a draw by Mafra this Sunday, on II Liga matchday 25. For coach João de Deus, it was a harsh result, considering his side's dominance in the first-half.

“We fell behind straight away because of an individual mistake, but I thought the first-half was ours in terms of quality. We drew level and we could certainly have been winning at half-time. We had enough opportunities to get in front. We knew it would be harder in the second-half and the sending off didn't help. It wasn't the result we wanted", explained the Sporting B coach at the final whistle, adding a word on Mama Baldé's red card and an already extensive list of absences through injury: “Players being out makes it harder, but it forces us to think about new players. Today we played with three under-19's again, who have adapted well. We want to help the lads grow both individually and collectively and tomorrow they will be stronger."