Almeida's Analysis: August-September
A new season here at Oriental!
Out of Character: Hey guys, I figure you've read three seasons of purely monthly updates, maybe it's time for a change? Much like pompeyblue, I'll be writing my monthly updates from the fans' point of view. In these updates I'll be writing as if I am watching from the stands. I will be writing as supporter spokesperson Daniel Almeida.
August Results
We can take a lot of positives from our first month of football in the top flight! We looked organised tactically and the team was all on the same page. We even managed to grab some wins here and there!
I travelled up to Barcelos with my season ticket to go see the game versus
Gil Vicente and was hoping for a win, a draw would cut it. New signing China made a big impression, opening the scoring 7 minutes in much to my and the fans' delight. That first goal really helped settle the nerves, as Argentine Sergio Liparoti added a second goal shortly after. Gil Vicente managed to get back into the game midway through the first half but we went up in the break. The second half begun and we were ready. It took only three minutes for us to add our third of the game as new signing China slotted home a cut back from Franchi! Gil Vicente managed to make it 3-2, meaning our boys were tested but we got a dream win for our first game in the Primeira League. China particularly impressed me.
Final Score: Gil Vicente 2-3 Oriental
It was matchday again, and this time it was a home game versus
Moreirense, who were promoted alongside us last season. I've started to notice the crowd numbers are growing much, much more - over 8,000 people turned up to this fixture,
eight times the amount that came last season. Again we got off to a great start, new signing Bruno Carvalho finishing off from the right wing. We were pegged back to 1-1 nearly immediately but China added his third goal in two games to give us a slender lead. Unfortunately we couldn't hold on, and the game finish as a 2-2 draw. We can take positives from this match, however, and we've grabbed four out of a possible six points so far! The manager seems to have a good tactic going so far.
Final Score: Oriental 2-2 Moreirense
The team were back in action at home, so it was a short trip for me from work to go see the boys in action when they travelled to
Arouca. Unfortunately, it wasn't the desired result and the overall performance was pretty poor. We went down early before second and third goals were added - it was looking like a drubbing. New striker André Alves was given a run and he made use of it, scoring a 75th minute consolation but it couldn't halt what was in truth a disappointing performance. Hopefully we can bounce back from this and give a better performance.
Final Score: Oriental 1-3 Arouca
I made the journey off of the mainland and travelled to see Oriental take on
Nacional da Madeira in Funchal. Things weren't pretty for most of the day, and, despite the beautiful location, I didn't really get to enjoy it much. We let in four goals but managed to score two of our own. I can't say I didn't see it coming, however, and I can't be too harsh on the team because it's our first season here in the top flight. I hope the manager can turn this around soon because we don't want to fall into a losing slide which can become unstoppable.
Final Score: Nacional da Madeira 4-2 Oriental
Another Saturday - another game. It was going to be a tight affair between us and
Estoril and I hoped we could snap out of our little blip. The fans wanted something to cheer about and we had the perfect opportunity to do so when we hosted these guys. We played well, and looked threatening when in attack - but still a little shaky in defence. The team was unlucky to go down and we probably should've scored, and it ended in a narrow defeat for us. It's still early in the season so I'm not too worried.
Final Score: Oriental 0-1 Estoril
A away trip to
Varzim gave the team an opportunity to make a cup run as well as a chance to boost morale within the squad after three straight defeats. It was a fairly long trip to Póvoa de Varzim, incidentally the location of the possible new chairman, but we were ready to see a good performance and hopefully a change of fortunes. We opened the scoring through that man again, China, before taking a more commanding lead 13 minutes later through Sergio Liparoti. Complacency showed a little, as we allowed Fernandão to let them back into the match. We held on, and with seven minutes remaining Liparoti added another to cap off a great performance. A good win from the boys, a morale booster for sure! The only problem was the fact China picked up an injury and it looked serious.
Final Score: Varzim 1-3 Oriental
The final game of the month was another away one.
Belenenses were having a poor season and so I hoped the boys would be able to get one over them and finish the month on a high. It was even contest, we looked threatening on the break but couldn't get that final ball through. That was until the 30th minute when André Alves scored a great finish to put us ahead. The manager got his tactics right and he did a great job getting the players prepared for the match as we looked solid in defence and weren't threatened very much at all.
Final Score: Belenenses 0-1 Oriental
August-September Table
A great start! We've made a solid start to life in the top flight and we'll look to continue to grab wins here and there and build on our start. I'm liking the job the manager is doing and the wins against Gil Vicente and Belenenses prove the future is bright here. We will stay up!
The Month Ahead
Another fairly nice fixture list for October, with plenty of winnable games. União Madeira haven't won or drawn a game yet so we must take advantage of the game against them. We also have a derby, in our eyes, against giants Sporting to look forward to!
Monthly Review
After every match I go to the pub with some friends and enjoy a nice meal and beer. We talk about the game and discuss things that could be worked on here and there. This month, we can't really complain. All we'd like is for our team to remain competitive and keep getting wins here and there.