IMORTAL FOOTBALL CLUB ALBUFEIRA

Imortal 6 Odíaexere 1

When it was 1-1 after 13 minutes and an Imortal player had been ludicrously sent off by a very officious referee, everyone thought that was that.

But despite playing most of the game with ten men, Imortal destroyed a very weak visiting side, running in goals almost at will.

More later.

Yesterday in Faro - Faro e Benfica 2 Imortal 1

I didn't go as it was played at that horrible Horta da Areia ground. I went to see Portimonense v Olhanense instead. Not a particularly good game, Portimonense won 1-0 to maintain their challenge for promotion to the big boys league.

Padernense 1 Imortal 3

Imortal go into the holiday break having won three games in a row, albeit against teams below them in the league.

This was a game of two halves, as the statistics will show. It was good job Imortal were 3-0 up at half time or the outcome could have been entirely different.

The ground in Paderne is small and surrounded by a very high wall. It is also windy up there. Add to those factors a pitch in poor condition plus it being a local derby and it was never going to be a game for the purist. Far too many passes went too far or or too high. Two balls were lost out of the ground in the first three minutes, with one of the local kids being employed pretty much full time in retrieving them right through the game.

The somewhat picturesque setting, the 'bar end' of the Paderne ground. Admission btw was only 1 Euro.



Paderne started the better, attacking swiftly. Pedro Rodrigues was an early saviour, blocking a shot on the goal-line with the home fans already cheering a score. There followed a series of Paderne raids until mid-way through the half, by which time the game had settled into a midfield battle. There is no space on that pitch. Every time anyone had the ball he was instantly surrounded.

Imortal, in black, have an early chance blocked by a massed defence.



Then Imortal struck on the counter, with two goals in five minutes. A good move down the right by Luis Barradas set up Paollo, whose first time shot from the edge of the penalty area sped low and hard across the Paderne 'keeper for the first. The second had an element of luck about it. Miguel Ferreira got in the way of a shot by Barradas just inside the area. Luck was with him when the ball spun high into the air and fell obligingly at his feet. He turned and shot from the left corner, again hard and low giving the 'keeper no chance.

A couple of injury scares rattled Imortal for a while. First Rodrigues was kicked in the head while trying a headed clearance then Chico fell awkwardly on the bumpy surface. Happily both returned to the fray shortly afterwards.

The third goal came a few minutes before half time and it was Ferreira again with some luck on his side. A ballooned clearance out of the Imortal half should have been cleared but the defender made a hash of it. The ball landed at the feet of Ferreira who lashed it into the net from 25 yards. Cue a simple shrug as if to say 'easy, I do this all the time'!

Imortal should have scored a fourth before the break, but shots were blocked or went wide.

Paderne started the second half as they had the first and this time were rewarded after seven minutes. The Imortal defence failed to deal with a corner and the loose ball was struck home from a crowd of players. 3-1.

The home side continued to press and things began to get a little tetchy. The Paderne captain was having a go at several Imortal players and there were three of four instances of general finger waving, pushing and shoving.

This effort for Imortal went just over.



In between the scrums, Ferreira and Paollo combined in a good move for Imortal but the final ball towards Paollo was far too high (caught in the gusty wind perhaps) and the chance went begging. At the other end, Paderne had a gift-wrapped chance that went not just over the crossbar but over the bar where beer is sold, the ball last being seen heading down into the valley below.

The final few minutes saw the game peter out, with a couple more yellows amid a lot of shouting and gesticulating. Imortal used their three subs to break up the flow of the game. The ref announced 5 minutes of additional time, which made nerves jangle a little among the visitors but Paderne by then had nothing left to offer. Right at the death, Imortal had another couple of chances but the trees outside the ground bore the brunt of one shot. The best fell to Ferreira, but his shot from 10 yards was blocked by an instinctive save by the goalie.

Imortal have no games scheduled for the holiday period, the next fixture being on 9th January at home to SC Quarteira.

Match stats - split into the two halves to show how the game changed!

Free kicks conceded : Imortal First half 3 , second half 15 total 18, Padernense first half 11 second half 4 total 15
Offside : Imortal first half 0, second half 3, Padernense first half 1 second half 0.
Shots on target : Imortal first half 3 second half 2 total 5, Padernense first half 1 second half 2 total 3
Shots blocked : Imortal first half 3 second half 1, Padernense first half 0, second half 1 total 1
Shots off target: Imortal first half 4 second half 4, total 8, Padernense first half 2 second half 2 total 4
Corners : Imortal first half 3 second half 5 total 8, Padernense first half 4 second half 4 total 8
Yellow cards : Imortal 4, Padernense 1

Lagoa 4 Imortal 2

No long report this week as I was in company once again.

It was always going to be a big ask at the team second in the League and so far unbeaten and so it proved. Lagoa fielded two very large strikers, who were also mobile and difficult to deal with. The pitch was in good condition, the weather perfect at 16C and sunny. And it was only 1 Euro to get in!

Lagoa took the lead on 17 minutes with a lucky goal. A shot was well saved, a rebound was struck against the crossbar and fell down amongst a scrum on the six yard line to be poked home. A second was added five minutes before half time after a swift counter-attack found Imortal's defence wanting. The best chance for the visitors went to captain Pedro, who found time away from his busy defensive duties to head a free kick against the post with the goalkeeper stranded.

Imortal pulled one back shortly after the restart, Vasile Lucian finishing a good move that came from the right wing play of Chico and Paullo.

Things went badly wrong for Imortal mid-way through the half with a sending off for kicking out in retaliation - a new player whose name I do not know but will find out.

Imortal had been applying some good pressure but without results. The ten men then found themselves further behind five minutes after the sending off, a goal similar to the second from a counter-attack and finished well and then it was four, again from a sweeping move one end to the other and a deadly finish.

Imortal didn't give up and were rewarded with a scrambled second goal in stoppage time ( I reckon an own goal but Pedro might claim it!) but it was not enough.

Cannot fault the effort, beaten on the day by a better team. But with other results, Imortal actually go up one place to 9th on goal difference!

Next Saturday Imortal will be at home to Moncarapachense, currently 5th in the League and who have lost three of their six away league games thus far.

The trip home was made all the more gloomy by the news from Radio 5 Live of defeats for all the other teams our group follow!

The Imortal Ultras massed behind the goal during the second half.

el birnn wrote: They were ruthless animals...incredible we didn't see more red cards..or broken legs

And that was just the Imortal Ultras...

The game was made slightly more amusing by a lady in the home crowd bellowing every few minutes, she sounded just like Howard Wolowitz's mum from "Big Bang Theory".

I don't know if you spotted late in the game the Lagoa player blatantly cheating, when he rolled over and over clutching his face down near the corner flag where we were. Out man never got within 5 yards of him, the ref ignored him but should have booked him. he of course rose like Lazarus when he realised nothing was going.

"Will see if there is much fun at Olhao v Famalicao later."

Imortal 0 Moncarapachense 1

A solitary goal just before half time was Imortal's undoing. That's three defeats in a row now, not looking good. Neither team had much to offer up front, Imortal did create a couple of good chances in the first half but both went wide. Neither goalkeeper really had a save to make as defences dominated weak forward lines.

However, the visiting goalie was obliged to come off his line to make a clearance. Arnie had put his nearly full beer down to answer the phone, 'keeper's clearance struck the ale vessel with unerring precision amid general hilarity, one person aside!

Silves 1 Imortal 2

Not a very good game between two not very good teams. Imortal dominated for the most part, especially in the second half.

Imortal were 1-0 down before they knew it. Just three minutes had passed when a swift move down the right ended with q good cross. Defence and goalkeeper idn't deal with properly and the rebound was smashed home from fifteen yards.

Imortal recovered well from that early setback. Over the years, Imortal have a pretty good record at Silves. Around the half hour mark some good pressure resulted in Silves conceding several free kicks in dangerous positions, but nothing came of them with Silves defence covering adn blocking well. The ball did cross the line once, but was disallowed for offside. Fullback Nico had the best chance just before half time, but shot wide.

0-0 at half time but Imortal were definitely the better team.

They came out for the second half to contnue the good work. Centre back Ricardo had an effort go just wide. A double substitution after 55 minutes saw Paollo and one who is not on my list (number 13) replace Ferreira and Lucien. There are no announcements at Silves, no team sheets etc and I had no opportunity to ask his identity!

Anyway, reward came within five minutes as the mystery man was felled in the box. Up stepped captain Pedro to blast the spot kick home for the equaliser. And then, five minutes later on, our unkown hero scored himself, a fine shot on the turn from the edge of the area.

Silves came back and there was a huge miss, a diving header from all of two yards that should have gone in, but went spinning wide. A couple of other opportunities came Silves' way, before Imortal shut up shop for the final fifteen minutes.

The first win in four games and although not pretty, well received. The free kick count was one of those ridiculous ones we have ben mercifully clear of this past few weeks, a total of 49 counting the offsides!

Free kicks conceded : Imortal 19, Silves 20 including the penalty. 27 of these kicks came in the second half.
Offside : Imortal 4 Silves 3
Shots on target : Imortal 6, Silves 2
Shots blocked : Imortal 4, Silves 4
Shots off target: Imortal 6, Silves 4
Corners : Imortal 4, Silves 3
Yellow cards : Imortal 2 (one foul and one for Chico for kicking the ball away after an offside decision), Silves 2, both for fouls.
Red Cards : none

Some pictures at the end of this picture set : http://1drv.ms/1PttBJp

On Tuesday afternoon Imortal travel to Monchique in what is the first game of the second half of the season. Next Saturday they will be at home to 11 Esperanças.