Dreaming in 3’s.
It was all about the number “3” last night at the Dragão as Porto closed out Naval 1º de Maio. The current national champions closed out a helpless Naval at home thanks to three strikes from Tomas Costa, Falcao, and Silvestre Varela. The win helps Porto secure their current spot in 3rd place as they hold off a sub-par Sporting by twelve points and the gain of three points put the champions within seven points of Benfica with a match to give.
The story of the meeting is not limited to goal, it was above all, a game where the Dragons brought beautiful attacks, but many of them did not result in goals. Though the champions walked away with a win last night it did not come easy for them. An attentive Naval put the pressure on the Dragons defensively until the 37th minute when a obscure free kick by Tomas Costa, which took many deflections, assured the Dragons they would go into halftime up a goal.
Porto’s pace would be slowed during the match, with many arguing the weather which included torrential downpours played a major factor as the commentators stated that players were having trouble seeing on the pitch. Despite the weather the Dragons would come out in the second half ready to take on their opponents. A header by Falcao thanks to a ball from captain Bruno Alves put the Dragons up quickly 2-0 before a last minute goal by Silvestre Varela would secure the teams 3 points at the end of the match.
Tomas Costa would leave the meet up with Naval as Porto’s player of the match. After a vote by 31,420 spectators Costa was handed the title, “I feel good and increasingly comfortable in this position. The team is very good. Just think of us. We must be vigilant and try to score points doing so counts at the end.”
“We are stronger,” Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira told the press following the meet up with Naval. “The team was supportive and balanced, and learned to play against an opponent very close and won with merit. Besides the three goals, we had three more good chances to score.” Ferreira continued to express his confidence and pride in his side, “The team begins to realize finally that our model is this. Under the terms of commitment, the players were excellent, especially because we had three games of great intensity in a short period of time.”
Although the team has already faced tough challenges Ferreira continues to stress that there are many more tests ahead for the Dragons and it is important to not lose focus of what is in front of them. Though still seven points behind leaders Benfica, Ferreira has no doubt that his side is becoming more efficient with the ball and have a good chance to take on the Eagles, “The number of goals scored in the latest games is a sign that we are being more efficient. The Eagles have 20 goals in all competitions, 14 in the championship, and Varela has long passed their best mark. We are also stronger in the set-pieces.”
The Dragons now face Academica Wednesday in their Carlsberg Cup semi-final match. The team met for training today at PortoGaia with four players absent: Cristian Rodriguez, Raul Meireles, and Ernesto Farias who all continue to undergo treatment for injuries and a new edition, Jorge Fucile who took a knock to the knee in the match against Naval last night. The team will come together again tomorrow at 10AM at PortoGaia. The training session, which is closed to the media, will have a superflash preview of the match against Academica at 12:30. You can catch the Dragons in action Wednesday at 20:15 at the Estádio do Dragão.
