Boavista 0-0 Arouca – Promoted club pick up another point in the Primeira Liga
Boavista and Arouca failed to alarm the scorers in a poor 0-0 draw at the Estádio do Bessa Século XXI.
The Panthers lacked penetrating power up front, often failing their first touches and failing to bring top scorer Yusupha Njie into play.
Arouca stuck to his game plan and created chances on the counter, while Alan Ruiz always looked dangerous when he got the ball.
Armando Evangelista, without top scorer Oday Dabbagh, will be happy for another point that keeps his side in sixth place, two points ahead of Casa Pia and four points ahead of Boavista.
The pattern of the game was set early on
Arouca picked up the pressure early before creating a huge chance on the counterattack. Alan Ruiz released Rafa Mújica, who deflected the ball to an unmarked Antony, whose shot was missed by the winger.
Boavista regained the lead, Yusupha Njie netted the ball and the goal was ruled out after Ricardo Mangas was ruled offside in the build-up.
Kenji Gorré was frequently involved on the left wing, where Bogdan Milovanov struggled to keep up with the fast winger. Mangas headed a Bruno Onyemaechi cross over the bar but Boavista failed to capitalize on their regular forays.
Once again, Arouca withstood the pressure and created another chance on the counter. Left-back Weverson advanced and his cross found an unmarked Alan Ruiz who was unable to beat Rafael Bracali at his near post.
Makouta denied
The Panthers ended the first half with a great opportunity to break the deadlock. Ibrahima opted for manga and his cross found Gaïus Makouta, who couldn’t beat Ignacio de Arruabarrena.
Armando Evangelista made a change at the break when Weverson made way for Tiago Esgaio.
Boavista pushed the ball further forward without shooting at goal and almost paid the price when Vincent Sasso lost the ball in Arouca’s half. Showing his usual composure to initiate an attack, Ruiz followed and collected the ball in the penalty area where he pulled his shot wide.
The substitutions begin to flow
Petit made an attack change in the 59th minute when Bruno Lourenço replaced Ibrahima. Njie then shot over the bar after receiving a loose clearance from Ismaila Soro.
Once again Arouca showed his ability to get in front and cause problems in transitions, Morlaye Sylla found an unbalanced Mújica who couldn’t save his shot.
Both managers went on their bench in the 73rd minute, Petit replacing Kenji Gorré with Martim Tavares and Evangelista bringing in Arsénio and Yusuf Lawal for David Simão and Antony.
Petit made his final changes in the 85th minute as Agra and Makouta gave way for Luís Santos and Ilija Vukotic. The Panthers had one last chance after Nino Galovic fouled Njie on the edge of the box, but once again nothing came of it.
From Matthew Marshall at the Estádio do Bessa Século XXI