In the opening match of the 31st round of the Pitclic League, Arauca came close to beating Gil Vicente (2-2) On the trip to Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, but the double advantage was wasted midway through stoppage time, after a thrilling final stretch from Tozé Marreco's men, in a duel that marked the debut of the Gelista captain in home matches. It is time to shout: “Crosses, what is this?” in the face of such a recovery.
After putting an end to a run of seven consecutive matches without a win in his debut in charge of the Roosters, Touzé Mariko picked the same eleven in the match against Moreirense. Daniel Souza – returning to a stadium he knows well – brought Matías Rocha into the defensive pivot and brought on Thiago Rodriguez in the surprising absence of De Arruparena.
He was honored before the match, and Murilo's goal was disallowed @Catarina Morais / Kapta +
After about an initial ten minutes of fractious football and without much reason to highlight it, Arouca put the football into action. Prioritizing an organized attack, Lobos de Arouca accepted a real offer from Gabriel Pereira, which still came in the first quarter of an hour.
The Brazilian defender losing the ball in a restricted area left Cristo Gonzalez in the face of Andrew, attracting the attention of the Brazilian Under-23 international and setting his timing. Reloading, Jason Remesero did the trick, with the goal empty in front of him, and shot towards…the billboard.
In the next move, Fujimoto's offside prevented Felix Correa from achieving Team Minho's first “official” position, in a period when attacks became increasingly rare for Team Gelistas. Excellent ensemble coordination work from Aroqense and impeccable readings by David Simao and Pedro Santos.
After half an hour and given the slight fading of Aruqense's momentum, Gil was more able to get involved and almost got the opener. Maxime Dominguez came out of the “phone booth”, sending Felix Correa, Fujimoto and Alibor in the “conspiracy” towards Thiago Rodriguez's goal, which Murillo – in the 250th match of his career – missed on the post.
Until the end of the first half, Arouca was close to the advantage. David Simao opted for a mid-range shot (with little success) and Rafa Mujica was a few centimeters from goal after a cross from Jason. Gil responded with increased depth, and Murillo opened the game after a strong recovery from Gil's players, but erratic positioning meant his debut on the scoreboard was postponed.
When the match started again, the visitors reactivated the chip from the first moments of the match, imposed difficulties on the gelista and the goal was quickly achieved. A short corner to the right, a wide cross from Jason and a wonderful finish from Cristo Gonzalez to the far post, in a move that freed the Spaniard from being marked by the injured Gabriel Pereira at the time.
Soon after, Jason threatened to make it 0-2, and with no time wasted, Touse brought on Mariko Martim Neto, Miro and Tijani Toure, who immediately pushed Felix Correa down the right. With the wingers in 'escort position', Gil turned his game vertical, gaining another ability to get into the final third – the disallowed goal against Depo is great evidence of that – and making the Barcelona fans despair at the goal miscue.
At the time, Minho's team had his fans believing it, but, in another Messiah moment, he appeared to cross the bottom line. However, Minho's heart was big, and in an instant, the dots became real.
Tidjani Toure pulled one back with a beautiful cross in stoppage time, turning the Gelista stand into a veritable volcano, and the equalizer came just moments later: Fujimoto fired the ball on the verge of offside, and Poitou confirmed the final score with a touch worthy of the players. The tip of the spear.
“Writer. Communicator. Award-winning food junkie. Internet ninja. Incurable bacon fanatic.”