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."

Sporting B see points snatched away by late Gil Vicente equaliser

João de Deus' side haven't had the easiest start to the season, with the league standings speaking for themselves after seven matches: one win, one draw and four loses. The statistics however are a harsh reflection of what have been some solid performances, worthy of much more.

Up this weekend for Sporting B at the Academy was Gil Vicente. Reinforcements were brought in from the senior squad, with Ricardo Esgaio coming in and putting on the captain's armband, accompanied by Bruno Paulista and Matheus Pereira.

The first-half was largely uneventful for the most part, before coming alive just before the break. In fact, Pedro Silva was only called into action for his first save of the afternoon after 30 minutes, following a free-kick by Bruno Silva. At the other end, the Gil Vicente keeper Júlio was also given a quiet start, only being called into action after 36 minutes when Guima floated in a cross that was headed towards goal by Ronaldo Tavares.

Sporting CP pushed the pace just before half-time and both Pedro Delgado and Matheus Pereira tried their luck from range, but to no effect.

Fifteen minutes in the dressing room with João de Deus proved to be just what the players needed and Sporting B came out looking like a different side. Playing higher liners, the Alvalade side began to carve out more space going forward. However, a cool head was missing in the final third and good build up play only occasionally turned into clear chances.

One minute before the half-hour mark Ricardinho made the most of a hashed clearance from Pedro Empis inside the area to give Gil Vicente what was largely an undeserved lead, against the run of play.

Who better than Pedro Marques, the forward from Belenenses who captured attention in midweek for his UEFA Youth League goal against Real Madrid, to level the scoring, with a hammering header after a cross from Pedro Empis.

On 71 minutes Pedro Marques completed the Sporting B comeback with a fantastic turn and snap shot on goal after a counter-attack lead by Matheus.

The fans were out of their seats ready to dash off to beat the traffic with the three points sealed, but Gil Vicente had other ideas and on 90 minutes a kind deflection was enough to wrong foot Pedro Silva and level for the visitors.

Sporting B miss out on II Liga matchday six

Sporting B's shaky start to the new Ledman LigaPro continued this weekend, this time with a harsh loss to Varzim. The defeat started after just two minutes, when a cross bounced off the bar and out to Rui Bento for an easy finish.

The easily blow was easily brushed off by João de Deus' side, who despite dominating play were unable to make the most of their chances in the final third. Meanwhile Varzim parked the bus and looked happy to soak up the Alvalade pressure.

The second-half almost started with the same stroke of bad look as the first for Sporting B, when a rocket of a shot from Renatinho after 40 seconds was only denied by a fantastic stop from Pedro Silva. It was however only one of a handful of chances for the hosts against a well drilled Sporting B side, but Varzim proved deadly from their few opportunities. On 61 minutes Leonel Olímpio saw a penalty stopped by Pedro Silva, but the young Alvalade keeper was unable to keep out the rebound from Renatinho.

Still João de Deus' side continued to dominate, but Varzim's direct football proved to be almost miraculously damaging and Delmiro made it 3-0 late on with a header.

The loss sees Sporting B slip down to 20th, ahead of next weekend's hosting of Gil Vicente.

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.

João de Deus thought his side deserved more from Wednesday's Ledman LigaPro encounter

João de Deus wa left frustrated by his side's draw this Wednesday night, after a dominating performance in Familicão.

“It was a hard match at the beginning, because we were not very well organised. However, we feel frustrated, because we deserved the win here today. We won't point the finer of blame at anyone and the lads did well to fight back. A lot of work went into our defensive performance today and Famalicão were caught off-side a lot, which is credit to that. We are doing some interesting stuff with a very young team", the Sporting B coach at the final whistle.