Sep 03 - Mons Calpe Surprise Boavista With Tenacious Performance
By Mark Viales in Porto
A die-hard tenacious performance from Mons Calpe limited Portuguese Primera Liga club Boavista to three goals in a friendly at the Estádio do Leça in Porto yesterday.
The stadium was reminiscent of the Victoria Stadium in its humble surroundings and limited capacity, but that did not diminish the magnitude of this friendly match for a Gibraltarian side.
The score was level up until the 60 minute mark when Boavista, with nine main national titles under their belt, broke the deadlock through their main danger-man André Bukia.
Bukia pounced on a loose ball by Calpians’ substitute keeper Fernando Sanchez to centre-half Leo Vela inside the area and went on to slot it into the back of the net.
Three minutes later an incisive run by Bukia down the left wing and his subsequent deep cross was not dealt with and eventually fell to striker Digas who smashed it through the keeper’s hands.
Fatigue was perhaps beginning to creep in and it has to be said that Boavista are well down the line in preseason when compared to the Calpians who had only been together for a week.
Ten minutes before the final whistle a bullet effort from Digas from just outside the area smashed into the top corner, leaving Sanchez with no chance.
Similar to the national side’s match against Portugal on Thursday, this was a game of two halves. The first half was an even game with the Calpians matching the professional outfit in all areas and the tireless effort of the team led to Boavista struggling to string any meaningful passes together.
Mons Calpe’s bullish striker Michele di Piedi had two great chances in the first ten minutes to give his side the lead when his decent effort was parried by the keeper Mamadou Ba for a corner.
The resulting corner led to another chance for the striker as he angled his header towards the corner but Ba was equal to it.
Credit has to be given to 16-year-old Max Cottrel, whose unrelenting engine in defensive midfield and mature positional sense produced a performance beyond his years.
Jose Luis Otero and Vela were an effective defensive partnership with their intimidating frames and aggressive tackling coming in useful against the even larger Boavista forwards.
Manuel Camacho Onega showed good tenacity and pace down the right wing with his teammates often searching for his quick dashes. Michele did well to hold up the ball and try and feed the electric wide man with flick-ons.
A cameo performance from Facundo Cascio, a product of the Storm FC academy that has linked with Mons Calpe, almost led to the Calpians breaking the deadlock early in the second half.
The 18-year-old glided past Brazilian Philipe Sampaio and bore down on goal before his drilled effort went just wide.
But it was all too much for the Gibraltarian side in the end as fitness levels took their toll, but their heads will be held high due to the promising performance levels.
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