Sporting come from behind to win 2-1 in Famalicão | OneFootball

Sporting bounced back from their home defeat against Porto by earning three points at high-flying Famalicão tonight. The hosts had won three and drawn one of their Liga Portugal games to date and had not conceded a single goal, and when Gustavo Sá headed them into the lead it appeared the good run would continue.

But Sporting hit straight back through Pedro Gonçalves. In the second half Luis Suárez – fresh from his 4-goal display for Colombia against Venezuela in midweek – grabbed the all-important winner for the Lions, which on the balance of chances created was a deserved victory for the champions.

First start for Vagiannidis

Famalicão made two changes to their starting XI with Ibrahima Ba replacing the suspended Léo Realpe and Gil Dias preferred to Pedro Santos.

Injuries prevented Sporting coach Rui Borges from selecting goalkeeper Rui Silva and winger Geny Catamo, with João Virgínia and Geovany Quenda coming in as replacements, while Greek right-back Georgios Vagiannidis made his full debut, replacing Iván Fresneda in the back four.

An electric start saw chances aplenty and a goal apiece by midway through the first half. An acrobatic effort by Suárez and a thunderous Rodrigo Pinheiro shot saw danger at both ends of the pitch early doors.

In the 15th minute Trincão threaded a perfect through ball to Quenda, but Famalicão goalkeeper Lazar Carevic won the one-on-one duel.

Gustavo Sá impresses again

Moments later, the home team took the lead. A cleverly worked corner saw Mathias de Amorim’s cross deflected to the back post where Famalicão golden boy Gustavo Sá was on hand to direct his header into the net.

It was all action and Sporting were soon level. Quenda atoned for his miss with a wonderful diagonal pass to release Pote, who coolly beat Carevic with a “trivela” finish.

In a fiercely contested match Famalicão were unhappy with the referee for failing to award a penalty when Pedro Bondo took a tumble in the box, and failing to send off Gonçalo Inácio when he caught Sá in the neck with a flailing arm having been shown a yellow card earlier.

But Fama’s players were grateful to the officials when Suárez had the ball in the net shortly before the break, but it was ruled out for offside. There was still time for Justin de Haas to head just over the bar before the referee called time on a breathless first half.

Sporting step it up

The second period was a different story, with Sporting asserting their authority and largely controlling proceedings. The Lions seemed certain to score when the ball fell to Quenda in the box with the goalkeeper exposed, but the youngster’s shot on the turn hit the post and rebounded into play.

Constant attacking from the visitors eventually paid off when a spell of non-stop pressure resulted in Pote finding the unmarked Suárez in the box, who calmly side-footed the ball into the net from 15 yards out.

The Lisbon outfit then opted to drop their lines to try and control a dangerous opponent rather than actively searching for a third goal in a rerun of an old failing from last season, but truth be told Sporting defended solidly and Famalicão never looked like grabbing an equaliser.

Both coaches turned to their bench, with Borges giving a debut to new Greek striker Fotis Ioannidis.

The closest we came to another goal was when some trickery by Sporting substitute João Simões in the box created room for a shot, which was tipped around the post by Carevic. The Lions rise to second in the standings, three points behind FC Porto.

Famalicão 1-2 Sporting highlights

Famalicão: Lazar Carevic, Rodrigo Pinheiro, Ibrahima Ba, Justin de Haas, Pedro Bondo (Antoine Joujou, 71’), Marcos Peña (Tom van de Looi, 71’), Mathias de Amorim (Umar Abubakar, 88’), Gil Dias, Gustavo Sá (Pedro Santos, 80’), Sorriso, Simon Elisor (Yassir Zabiri, 80’)