Sporting CP held to draw in Alvalade

Sporting CP were held to a draw this Saturday evening by Tonela (1-1), on Liga NOS matchday 8.

The game was in many ways a reflection of the midweek Champions League hosting of Borussia Dortmund, with Jorge Jesus's side struggling to get a foothold in the first-half against a team that looked happy to sap away time.

The usual suspect Gelson Martins looked the most likely to score in the early exchanges and actually hammered a shot against the post after just four minutes. The next opportunity was made to wait until the 21st minute, when a cross from Schelotto ended with a header high over the bar from Bas Dost. One minute before the break Schelotto carved out another chance, this time with Bryan Ruiz arriving just a second to late to convert.

With Bruno César introduced at the restart, there was a clear improvement from Sporting CP and chances soon began to follow. A goal looked likely, but it was Tondela who struck, when Jaílson put in a hopeful cross that ended up with Jhon Murillo for a simple finish (74').

With the fans feeling disgruntled with Tondela's far from deserved goal, Jesus introduced Campbell to the action four minutes later and the Costa Rican soon pulled a stop out of Cláudio with a header. Tondela dropped back in an effort to defend what would have been a precious three points and time wasting became the theme of the evening, with a touch of facilitation from referee Rui Costa. Five minutes into added time Campbell struck to avoid what would have been an extremely harsh defeat.