João de Deus happy with his side's performance despite missing out on the points

His side might have come away empty handed from Sunday's hosting of Penafiel, but João de Deus was not completely displeased with the performance.

"If you put the result to one side, then I would say we played well. Although we were missing a bit of maturity and experience at times", said the Sporting CP B coach in an interview at the final whistle, adding his analysis of the encounter: "We let a goal in from a dead ball situation which we had been working a lot on in training, so we are feeling a bit frustrated. Both halves were essentially the same, with Penafiel better in the opening 10 minutes. We showed touches of quality in the first-half and had chances on goal which we missed through a bit of immaturity. There is no getting around it, this is an under-23 team."

Mateus Pereira claims win for 9-man Sporting CP B

Sporting B beat União da Madeira 1-0 this Wednesday, courtesy of a 35th minute strike from Matheus Pereira.

It was a particularly deserved win for João de Deus's side, who battled on to finish with nine men after the sending off of Kiki and Ricardo Esgaio.

The result moved Sporting B up to sixth overall in Ledman LigaPro with 24 points from 15 matches. 

João de Deus happy after his side's win against Santa Clara

Every win brings a smile to a coach's face, but especially when it is against a side of the strength of Santa Clara. 

Ronaldo 2.0 comes off the bench to net twice

Ledman LigaPro was far from a regular encounter, with the first-half lasting for 66 minutes. Why? Because it was in the 67th minute that Ronaldo Tavares was introduced off the bench and absolutely set fire to the afternoon.

The hosting of Santa Clara was one of the most competitive matches played so far this season at the Sporting Academy. The visitors from the Azores arrived on the continent in third place in the league standings, while João de Deus were in resurgent form despite conceding a draw last week.

Only Clemente and Matheus Pereira looked really threatening before the introduction of Tavares and it was Clemente who opening the scoring with an unstoppable header past Pedro Silva. Pereira responded with an exquisite free-kick, before Pedro Silva got his revenge against Clemente with a penalty stop in the 50th minute.

Then came a tornado in the form of Ronaldo Tavares, who needed just 12 minutes to put Sporting B into the lead after linking up well with Pereira. Berny Burke when then shown a direct red card for a violent tackle, before Ronaldo Tavares headed in his side's third after a wire guided cross from Pedro Empis.

João de Deus frustrated by last minute draw

Coach João de Deus was left evidently disappointed after his side's 2-2 draw against Olhanense this weekend, after throwing the lead away twice.

“In the first-half we had a lot of chances to score. We were better than our opponent and we could have finished more. We felt a bit hard done by with the score at half-time, but it was our own fault. In the second-half Olhanense had more of the ball and controlled things a bit more. We conceded, but we reorganised ourselves and equalised naturally enough. Then the typical problem with B teams full of young players hit us. Only a young team lets in a goal that late in the match", said the Sporting CP B coach at the final whistle.

Sporting CP B led twice in Olhão before last minute goal split the points

Sporting CP B were held to a 2-2 draw against Olhanense this weekend, after the hosts snatch equaliser in added time.

In contrast to the final stages, the start of the encounter couldn't have been better for João de Deus's side, as Mama Baldé broke through the middle and set up Leonardo Ruiz for a superb chipped finish. Seconds later, Matheus Pereira skilled his way past two defenders and drove a dangerous cross into the box Ruiz came up just short of converting.

Sporting CP B continued to control proceedings and looked the most likely to find the back of the net again. On 21 minutes Pedro Delgado had a good opportunity following a counter-attack, but his host was turned away by the home defence. Olhanense did attempt to rally just before half-time, but Pedro Silva's goal was rarely troubled.

The break wasn't well managed by Sporting CP B, with the Alvalade youngsters opting to fall back instead of pressing Olhananese. The hosts made the most of the opportunity to take the initiative and soon equalised through Cissé. Buoyed by the goal, Olhanense began to throw numbers forward, in the process leaving space open for counter-attacks led by Matheus Pereira. It was precisely from one of the Brazilian's moves forward that Sporting CP B resorted the lead, with a move finished off by Budag.

To give credit to Olhanense, the hosts didn't through in the towel and deep into added time Tiago Barros split the points.

Sporting CP B turn in another win on Ledman LigaPro matchday 12

Preparation for Sporting B's hosting of Leixões got underway with a win against Freamunde during the week and João de Deus's side put in a mature performance on Sunday afternoon to tally another three points. It took just two minutes for Sporting B to find the back of the net, when Matheus Pereira picked out Ruiz for a smart header across goal.

Matheus and Ricardo Esgaio led most of the Alvalade attacks in a dominating showing that kept Leixões from so much of a sniff on goal until thr 14th minute, when Chiquinho called Pedro Silva into a rare stop.

The second-half was the same again, with Ruiz again netting, this time after confusion in the area following a corner.

Two minutes after the hour mark Pedro Empis almost bagged what would have been one of the goals of the season with a cross that almost dipped in at the far post. Leixões responded with their first positive looking spell of the afternoon, but a red card in the 64th minute dashed the visitors hopes of points, despite Ludovic reducing the difference with a shot from point blank range after what appeared to be a handball in the build up.

Sporting CP B claim three points on the road with last minute strike

Sporting CP B claimed a battling win against Freamunde (3-2) this week, on Ledman LigaPro matchday 11. It was the hosts who opened the scoring, courtesy of a 19th minute strike from Leandro Pimenta, before Pedro Delgado (27') and Bilel (33') put Sporting into the lead. Just before the break, Rui Rainho levelled.

João de Deus's side showed a real patience after half-time and finally snatched the victory with just one minute of regulation time remaining.

João de Deus's side rack up second consecutive Ledman LigaPro win

Sporting B turned in a second consecutive win this weekend, this time with a battling performance against the traditionally tricky Académica do Viseu.

The only goal of the afternoon came courtesy of Matheus Pereira (31') after an excellent opening spell from João de Deus's charges that could have seen the team from Alvalade run away with the result.

"It was tough. We had a brilliant half an hour but couldn't open up a bigger lead. We knew one break would be enough to get a goal", said João de Deus at the end of the encounter, adding: "The lads are all come out of a youth system where they could dominate and this type of match gives them experience and helps them grow."

Francisco Barão on Sporting B's 5-1 win on Wednesday

The Sporting B assistant coach Francisco Barão stepped in to speak with the press after his side's 5-1 win against Cova da Piedade this Wednesday, reflecting on what was expected to be a tougher encounter than it proved to be.

"Cova da Piedade deserved our respect and that is why we played so well. They are a hardworking team and it was down to us to come out on top. We have to see where we have been slipping up and that takes time, but hopefully today we got ourselves back on the right track", said Francisco Barão at the final whistle.