Leonardo Ruiz scores twice in Sporting B's return to winning form

Leonardo Ruiz was the player chosen to speak with the press after Sporting B's win against Cova da Piedade, in an encounter which saw the new Alvalade recruit net twice.

"I am really happy to have helped the team. That is what matters most to me", said Ruiz, who had scored three goals in four outings so far this season.

Sporting B with superb return to winning form in Ledman LigaPro

An aging Cova da Piedade visited the Sporting Academy this week to face João de Deus's side on Ledman LigaPro matchday 9. In face, the visitors are littered with recognisable names from Portuguese football, including Danielson (ex-Moreirense), Dieguinho (ex-Estoril) and Evaldo (ex-Moreirense and Sporting). Sporting B came on leaps and bounds against Gil Vicente in their last match, but not even the most optimistic fan would have been expecting a 5-1 win.

Although faced by a scorching 35 degrees, Sporting B stormed out of the blocks and Matheus led the showcase with his usually skillful master class. After just 4 minutes, the winger came close to opening the scoring with a shot that ended up just wide.

An aging Cova da Piedade side yes, but it was Sporting B who showed the maturity after the break and just 45 seconds had past when Ruiz headed in his second before the fans had even had a chance to get back to their seats.

João de Deus on Saturday's draw with Gil Vicente

A win is proving harshly difficult to come by for João de Deus' side so far this season. Despite outperforming Gil Vicente, for the full 90 minutes, the visitors were able to steal a last minute draw at the Sporting Academy.

"We were missing a bit in terms of positioning, which is what we worked on during the week. After coming from behind I wasn't expecting us to let the win slip. We have to stop making the kind of mistakes we have been. There is a still a lot of football to play and the lads are still getting to know each other", said the Sporting B at the final whistle, adding a word on the presence of senior squad stars Ricardo Esgaio, Bruno Paulista and Matheus Pereira in him team: "They are great players and they were brought in to help us. We are a really young side and having players like that with us will help us grow."

Pedro Marques on target twice in Gil Vicente draw

Pedro Marques continued his fine scoring form this weekend, grabbing a brace in a draw against Gil Vicente after the visitors to the Sporting Academy scored a last gasp goal.

"Even though we scored, it wasn't enough. I am upset because we didn't win. That is what we wanted to do", said the forward, who has now scored three goals in a week after a fantastic strike against Real Madrid in the UEFA Youth League.

A visit to Desportivo das Aves awaits next week, which for Pedro Marques is the perfect opportunity to start climbing the Ledman LigaPro table: "We can't let our guard down now. We have to roll out sleeves up and put the work in to get the win."

João de Deus on Sporting B's recent performances

Three home matches and three losses is of course not what João de Deus was looking for from his Sporting B side.

"We are missing chances, that is evident. In the first-half we did well to make the most of the space and we should have built on that. After the break we made some changes and you could see we began to understand what we could do, but a mistake gave away a penalty. After that a bit of anxiety started to show", said the Sporting B coach after Monday's loss to Vizela, continuing: "We are frustrated with the result. A lot of players are having their first few games with their new teammates and you can't build a team is just a couple of months. We are missing a bit of concentration, but that is normal for such young players and mistakes help them grow."

Sporting B stage late comeback but finish up short of taking away points

Sporting slipped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Vizela this Monday, on Ledman LigaPro matchday 5. João de Deus made just a single change to his starting 11 for the encounter, switching out Jovane Cabral for Elves.

Team in full: Pedro Silva; David Sualehe, Ivanildo, Guilherme Ramos and Mamma Baldé; Guima, Fábio Martins, Bilel and Elves; Leonardo Ruiz and Ricardo Almeida.

The first 45 minutes were a battling affair, with every inch in the middle of the park fought for tooth and nail. As a result chances were few and far between, with only Fábio Martins' effort on half an hour worthy of note.

Vizela looked happy to sit back in defence and absorb pressure, with even the Sporting keeper pushing out to try and release Mama Baldé and Sualehe into a yard of space down the wings.

Ivanildo Fernandes' first-half performance certainly attracted attention, pulling off a massive interception in the 28th minute when Kukula was preparing to pull the trigger. Ten minutes later he pulled off the same move on Mário Mendonça.

The second-half saw Vizela open up and both sides found a bit of breathing room. A shot from Bilel in the 59th minute finished just inches wide of Pedro Albergaria's posts, but if you don't finish your chances then you are always at risk of conceding and two minute later Vizela took the lead from the penalty spot after an aleged foul from Mama Badé on Filipe Augusto.

Sporting's attacking efforts kept up, but José Ribeiro's side continued to have more than their fair share of luck, this time with Kukula converting on a cross to put the visitors two goals ahead.

João de Deus' side would have been forgiven for letting down their guard, but the Alvalade youngers showed guts and chances followed for Pedro Marques (73'), Guilherme Ramos (78') and Guima (82'). Time after time chances came painfully close, before Leonardo Ruiz finally got one back for Sporting B with a spot kick from 12 yards. However, the goal proved to be too little too late and Sporting B snow slip down to 20th in Ledman LigaPro.

Fábio Martins welcomes international break to give squad time to gel

Fábio Martins took a moment to speak with the press after Sporting B's loss on Monday night, highlighting the importance of giving his team time to gel.

"We are just missing finishing. We have lost three games at home now and we will have to sort that out, but we will make the most of the break in the season now to fix a few things. A lot of new players have come in and we need time", said the 20-year old.

Goal from Ivanildo splits the points in Famalicão

Usually an away draw in Ledman LigaPro is a good result, but Sporting B could have come away with more this Wednesday..

It was however the hosts who got off the the stronger start and their 14th minute goal courtesy of Diego Medeiros was largely deserved, following a fatal error from Guilherme Ramos at the back.

From then on it was all Sporting, while Familicão looked little more than a shadow of the team that burst out of the blocks for the start of the encounter. Leading the Alvalade search for an equaliser was the 16-year old Elves Baldé, creating havoc for the duration as part of an attacking pairing with Leonardo Ruiz.

Sporting B finally drew level in the second-half through the centre-back Ivanildo Fernandes, who made the most of the rebound after an effort from range from Guima. João de Deus' side continued to pile on the pressure, but Vítor Braga had an inspired finish to the encounter to keep the points split.

Sporting B squander first-half lead as weather takes its toll in six-goal thriller

Sporting B were looking in good form in this weekend's Ledman LigaPro hosting of Fafe, but the visitor's efficient showing in front of goal was able to steal the three points from a six-goal thriller.

João de Deus put out a largely suspected 11 for kick-off, comprised of Pedro Silva in goal, Mama Baldé, Fidel Escobar, Ivanildo and Sualehe in defence, Guima, Fábio Martins, Elvis Baldé and Pedro Empis in the middle and Pedro Marques and Ronaldo Tavares leading the attack.

Despite the massive final score, the first goal was actually made to wait until three minutes after the half-hour mark, when Ronaldo ‘El Matador’ Tavares put away a leftfooted effort past José Marçal.

In a preview of what would be some notably clinical finishing, Fafe drew leel from their first opportunity, when Alan Junior continued his rich scoring form with a cool header.

However, the scoreboard was still for barely a minute when Ronaldo Tavares again pulled stop out of Marçal and Pedro Marques poked in the rebound to put Sporting back into the lead.

The second-half was completely the opposite of the first, with Fafe taking the driving seat, courtesy largely of a strong wind in their faour. Sporting were unable to adjust to the weather and Fae slowly cranked up the pressure. Sporting B finally broke on 66 minutes, when Agostinho Carvalho made it 2-3, before Leandro Borges struck just 15 minutes later to seal the result.

The loss leaves Sporting B in 15th in Ledman LigaPro, with Fafe moving up into sixth.

Sporting B to host Fafe at the Academy this weekend

Sporting B will host Fafe at the Academy this Saturday, in a 16h00 kick-off on Ledman LigaPro matchday three.

“You can expect to see a stronger Sporting side than the one you saw 15 days ago (against Portimonense, thanks to the lads who have just arrived", said João de Deus in a pre-match press conference this Friday, going on to highlight the return of Jovane Cabral.

However, the Sporting B coach is not expecting an easy encounter: “We know that Fafe are a hard team and they can do some interesting stuff in attack. We will have to focus in defence."