Sporting B coach on his side's draw with Varzim

The Sporting B coach João de Deus was evidently unhappy with his side's 0-0 draw with Varzim this Saturday afternoon, in a game with very few opportunities on goal.

“Our opponent was better than us in the first-half. They were on top of the game. We couldn't grasp the fact that we can't always boss the play and that we can't let our opposition gain confidence. The changes we made balanced the game a bit in the second-half, but we still kept making mistakes and we are not happy with how we performed today. We didn't play how we can or how we should. We really have to understand the level we are playing at and that we have to keep mistakes to a minimum", said Deus at the final whistle.

Sporting B held to battling draw by Varzim

Sporting B were forced to split the points with Varzim on II Liga matchday 13, at the Sporting Academy.

It was immediately obvious that the afternoon would be more of a battle for possession than an demonstration of attacking football, with Varzim packing four into the middle and hindering the efforts of the Alvalade forward trio of Rafael Barbosa, Diogo Salomão and Viola.

In fact, Sporting B didn't create a single opportunity on goal in the entire first-half, but Varzim were also looking remarkably unthreatening moving up the pitch. Pedro Silva pulled off a hand full of solid saves in the Sporting B goal, denying João Carneiro the opener. Neither team was really managing to get an effective grip on the encounter, but it was Nuno Capucho's side who looked the better of the two. Bruno Moraes was unable to keep his header on target, before Seejou King raced back to clear off the line after Stanley had picked out Bruno Moraes in front of goal.

The second-half was much of the same, with very few opportunities and Varzim looking slightly more convincing. Bruno Moraes again tried his luck, but the Brazilian was again off target. Sporting B finally started to push forward as the clock ticked on, but Viola's attempts failed to hit the mark and left Ricardo largely untroubled.

On 69 minutes, Bijou picked out Nelsinho, but Sporting B keeper Pedro Silva was on hand to maintain his cleansheet. In response, Francisco Geraldes exchanged passes well with Podence and found an inch of space in the area, but he was unable to find the back of the net in what was Sporting B's best chance of the afternoon. Viola again threatened late on, but the last chance of the game fell to Stanley with a shot that took a kind deflection off Domingos Duarte to almost get the better of Pedro Silva.

The result keeps Sporting B in third place in II Liga, with 22 points.

Rafael Barbosa in II Liga matchday 13 press conference

Sporting B midfielder Rafael Barbosa was with the press ahead of this weekend’s hosting of Varzim, in a match that will see his side looking to build on last week’s win in the Azores against Santa Clara.

“Varzim are a strong side who like to play good football, so our idea is to stop them from playing. They are flying right now after a good win against Desp. Chaves”, said the former Sporting youth team skipper, going on to highlight the differences between youth football and the senior game: “The pace and competitiveness is completely different. II Liga has a lot of unpredictable games. It has been hard, but I am adapting well.”

Sporting B-Varzim will kick off at 15h00 on Saturday, at the Sporting Academy. The match will be broadcast live on Sporting TV.

João Matos for II Liga matchday 13

João Matos, 31, from the Viana do Castelo Football Association, has been named to take charge of Sporting B’s hosting of Varzim, on II Liga matchday 13.

José Rio and Jorge Brito will act as linesmen.

Sporting B-Varzim will kick off on Satuday at 15h00, at the Sporting Academy. The encounter will be broadcast live on Sporting TV.

Sporting B turn in 3-2 win in the Azores

Sporting B returned to winning form this weekend with a 3-2 victory in the Azores against Santa Clara, on II Liga matchday 12.

João de Deus’ side took the lead after just four minutes, when João Botelho pulled off a good stop from a shot from Viola, only for Rafael Barbosa to slot from the rebound. On 22 minutes, the Argentinean was again the protagonist up front, this time finding the back of the net with a brilliant chip after some good collective play.

Clemente hit the woodwork for the hosts, but it was Sporting B who looked the most deadly going forward and on 40 minutes Labyad made it three.

It looked as if the game was all but over, but two quick strikes from Reginaldo and Batatinha made it 3-2 going in at the break.

Neither side really pushed the pace in the second-half and Sporting B smartly went about soaking up pressure from the hosts for the rest of the encounter.

The result leaves Sporting B in third place in II Liga with 21 points: two behind Portimonense and give behind FC Porto B.

Sporting B shotstopper ahead of visit to Santa Clara

Sporting B travel to the Azores this weekend to take on Santa Clara, on II Liga matchday 12. Speaking with radio journalists before the trip to the Portuguese archipelago, goalkeeper Pedro Silva affirmed that his side is more than prepare to claim the three points.

“Unfortunately we are not going thought a good spell of results. We have been playing well, but we just haven’t been scoring. We want to get back to where we were. Santa Clara are a tough side, especially when they are playing at home. It is always hard to play away from home for us and the fans really give us a hard time.”

Santa Clara-Sporting B will get underway at 16h00GMT on Sunday, in Estádio de São Miguel.

João de Deus unhappy with his side's loss to Atlético

João de Deus was evidently displeased with his side’s loss to Atlético this Sunday, on an afternoon completely dominated by Sporting B.

"We shouldn’t have lost this game, but I congratulate Atlético. We slipped up a lot with our finishing. We created more than enough chances to win comfortably and now we have to look at where we went wrong”, said the Sporting B coach at the final whistle.

Sporting B miss out to solo strike against Atlético

Sporting B missed out to Atlético this Sunday, on II Liga matchday 11.

After an early attacking spell from the afternoon’s visitors, Sporting B wrestled into the encounter and Gauld from range and Labyad had half chances to open the scoring. However, the most flagrant chance of the afternoon for the team form Alvalade fell to Viola just after 15 minutes, when Mickäel Meira denied the striker from the penalty spot.

Atlético capitalised on the let off, with Jorge Ribeiro finding the back of the net in the 24th minute. Both Labyad and Salomão could have drawn the game level at the break, but Meira proved to be in inspiring form to keep his side ahead.

Podence had the ball in the back of the net after the break, but his effort was ruled out before Viola, Labyad, Gauld and Sacko all saw the Atlético keeper pull off a string of unlikely saves.

The result puts Sporting B in fourth place in II Liga, with 18 points.

Daniel Cardoso for II Liga matchday 11

Daniel Cardoso, 30, from the Aveiro Football Association, has been named to take charge of Sporting B’s hosting of Atlético, on II matchday 11.

João Bessa Silva and Nélson Cardoso will act as linesmen.

Sporting B-Atlético will kick off at 16h00 on Sunday the 18th of October, at the Sporting Academy.

Sporting B coach on his side's draw in Famalicão

João de Deus highlighted his side’s ease in creating chances against Familicão this weekend, despite the points being split at the final whistle.

“We took on a quality side. We took advantage of their mistakes and we naturally created chances”, said the Sporting B coach about the first-half, adding: “After that we had to defend a lot, because there wasn’t much we could do with so many fouls, free-kicks and cards. We felt like we could have done more, especially in the second-half.”

Diogo Salomão also spoke with Sporting TV at the final whistle: “We knew that they are a good side who can create chances on the break, but we played well. We took the lead and ended up conceding a goal through a mistake, but we showed a good attitude.”