Alverca seize early control to climb to 10th at Rio Ave | OneFootball

Alverca beat Rio Ave 2-1 in Liga Portugal on Saturday in Vila do Conde, climbing from 12th to 10th and dropping the hosts to 11th.

In the fifth minute, Lucas Figueiredo dos Santos rifled in from outside the box after a set piece, set up by Lincoln Henrique Henrique. Sandro Lima doubled the advantage from the right side of the box (21.), finishing a pass from Figueiredo.

Matheus Mendes made important saves to preserve the lead, including stops from Jalen Blesa and Andreas Ntoi as the hosts pushed after the restart.

After Ryan Guilherme came on before the interval, Rio Ave carried more threat and Jalen Blesa headed in Nelson Abbey's cross (59.) to halve the deficit.

Five minutes of added time were indicated, but Alverca managed the closing stages to see the game out.

Rio Ave registered 18 attempts and forced eight corners as they chased parity. Alverca produced 14 attempts with six on target and won 58.9% of the duels.

Next, Rio Ave visit Santa Clara. Alverca host Casa Pia.