Benfica vs Barcelos: Hockey Championship Final

RESUMO BTV

The men’s roller hockey team Benfica received and beat OC Barcelos, 5-1, this Saturday, January 17th, at Pavilhão Fidelidade, in a game of the 12th round of the 1st phase of the National Championship.

The meeting, in front of 950 spectators, started with a calculating input from both teamswith Benfica in 1st place and OC Barcelos in 2nd place. It was a start marked by balance and risk management.

The first major incident came in the 5th minute, when Nil Roca was fouled inside the area, after an offensive attack, resulting in a penalty for Benfica. In conversion, João Rodrigues was effective and opened the scoring (1-0).

Soon after, in the 6th minute, Zé Miranda tried from mid-range, but found an excellent save from Guillem Torrents, goalkeeper of an OC Barcelos team organized in a low block, focused on quick transitions. Even so, the constant positional changes of the red attack began to create imbalances, and, at 9′, an individual initiative to Roberto di Benedetto allowed Benfica to extend their lead to 2-0.

The Minho reaction was not long in coming. At 11′, Vieirinha missed the shot at the second post, and, at 14′, Viti forced the opposing goalkeeper to make another high-level intervention. The match gained intensity, and Tato Ferruccio was given a blue card, between 16 and 18 minutes, left Benfica in numerical superiority, a period in which the eagles still hit the woodwork.

At 1:57 before the break, it was Nil Roca’s turn to see a blue card, but OC Barcelos were unable to capitalize on the numerical advantage. In the last seconds of the 1st half, around 4 seconds before rest, Roberto di Benedetto was stopped by Guillem Torrents, leaving both teams equal in numbers for a brief moment.

This detail proved to be decisive, as Nil Roca returned to the track 3 seconds into the 2nd half, allowing Benfica to begin the recovery in powerplay. However, the team led by Edu Castro was unable to take advantage of their superiority, and it was OC Barcelos who reduced it, at 30′, by Tato Ferruccio (2-1).

The Argentine would end up receiving his second blue card in the match, at 34′, reigniting the Reds’ offensive pressure. At 37′, Viti was brought down in the area, and João Rodrigues, again called upon to convert a penalty, did not waste, scoring twice in the match (3-1).

From then on, the Benfica took greater control of the game. Nil Roca, in the 40th minute, shot a ball at both posts, followed by attempts from Kyllian Gil (OC Barcelos) and Zé Miranda, both also returned by the woodwork. The Reds’ dominance would translate into more goals: At 44′, Roberto di Benedetto scored an excellent individual goal, entering the area into the goalkeeper’s area to make it 4-1.

Two minutes later, Gonçalo Pinto completed a remarkable collective play, setting the final score at 5-1. Until the final whistle, Benfica managed the match safely and added 3 more points.

With this triumph, the Benfica consolidates itself in 1st place, with 11 wins and 1 draw in 12 gamesincreasing the advantage over OC Barcelos, 2nd placed, which has 30 points.

DECLARATIONS

Edu Castro (Benfica coach): “We received OC Barcelos who, until now, if they won here, they would take us ahead in the standings. And they already went to FC Porto and played against Sporting, at Sporting’s home. They had a splendid first round, but we almost repeated the result of the Champions League game [6-1]. It’s a game in which we knew how to play very well with all the physical repertoire that OC Barcelos has and with their counterattacks, which are splendid. We managed the game very well. OC Barcelos fought until 2-1. I think that, if we had taken better advantage of the superior situations, perhaps we would have had a calmer end to the game. Thank you to the Benfica fans!”

Roberto di Benedetto (Benfica defense): “It was a great roller hockey game. We wanted to remain undefeated, continue winning at home. We demonstrated that we are a strong team this year, above all, very united. We have to highlight the whole team. The important thing is the 3 points. Last year we had the same momentum and in the end we didn’t know how to keep the pace. This year we are working to keep the pace throughout the season. We showed character, and we knew what we were going to do on the track. 5-1 is deserved.”