1st Lusofonia Games - Macau 2006



Day 1

MONDAY 9 OCTOBER:

GAME ONE: MACAU 0 vs 2 ANGOLA

Macau started the game very defensively and allowed Angola to have possession of the ball without pressuring them. They constantly turned over possession within seconds of receiving the ball themselves. The goalkeeper nearly always looked for the long throw to initiate a counterattack however his distribution was poor and often resulted in loss of possession.

Angola played with a traditional pivot passing often to static flankers who in turn tried to find the target, however because they were not pressured defensively they looked comfortable. Angola lacked penetration as they struggled with offensive movement off the ball which did not allow for space to be created and thus found it hard to breach the Macau zone defence. Because Macau defended so close to its own goal it allowed Angola opportunities to score that they otherwise probably would not have created themselves.

Eventually Angola was going to score because of the area allowed for them to utilise possession of the ball. Macau finally cracked with three (3) minutes on the clock and quickly succumbed again within a minute to allow Angola a comfortable lead at half time.

Macau started the second half in a similar vein but had moved their defence up court slightly too at least alleviate Angola’s chances. They had better movement in attack as well and actually found that they could string a few passes together without turning over possession. At the ten (10) minute mark Macau decided to apply half court defence mixed with the occasional pressure and it worked. Angola often turned over possession as they were seemed to lack traditional “futsal movement”. From this Macau created some scoring chances but poor execution let them down and they failed to register a goal.

In the end Macau gave Angola too much respect in the first half and paid the penalty for this. They played a much better second half but unfortunately lacked the necessary finishing touch to win the game.



GAME TWO: PORTUGAL 56 vs 0 EAST TIMOR

This was always going to be a tough task for the futsal newcomers, East Timor. Portugal from the outset pressured the East Timor team in their own half and often won possession resulting in goals. They notched their first in the opening minute and never let up, scoring their last with ten (10) seconds left on the clock.

East Timor had players with some good individual skill but lacked the knowledge of the futsal game to compete against one of the world’s best. Defensively they lacked structure and were often guilty of not following their runner. This allowed Portugal to get deep in behind the defence and lay backs to the runner resulted in many far post tap-ins. The continual rotation of the Portuguese players had the East Timorese looking every which way and totally bamboozled them. Portugal even used a particular corner kick on more than ten (10) occasions resulting in several goals.

By half time Portugal had racked up an amazing twenty-seven (27) goals and added a further twenty-nine (29) in the second half. To East Timor’s credit they never gave up and their goalkeeper tried his best to defy the Portuguese onslaught. Their lack of Futsal knowledge was quite evident and hopefully they will have learned some valuable lessons from their first futsal outing.




Day 2

TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER:

GAME THREE: ANGOLA 0 vs 7 BRAZIL

Brazil have brought a young team here for this tournament and it seemed that they have not had a lot of time to work together as sometimes they lacked cohesion. This is not to say that this is the case but they were not as fluent as one would come to expect from a Brazilian National Futsal Team. They had good movement and structure but at times their first touch was awry.

Angola improved nearly 100% from last night but they played against a completely different defensive structure. Brazil put them under constant pressure however the agility and speed of the Angolans helped them to alleviate this pressure on several occasions. They looked more comfortable under pressure than when Macau allowed them to bring the ball to them as they found it difficult to penetrate a tight defence. Against Brazil, Angola certainly didn’t just give over possession, as they seemed unperturbed by the pressure and at times seemed quite brazen with their show of skill.

In all Brazil had the structure of a knowledgeable futsal team that capitalised on some poor defending and sloppy distribution from Angola. The game itself was played at a frenetic pace and to Angola’s credit they kept pace with the Brazilians. This was the difference from Angola leaking more goals.

This was a creditable performance from Angola and a game that they should feel proud about. Unfortunately they couldn’t find the back of the net but nevertheless should leave satisfied. Brazil will be thankful they have got their first game over with a win and will more than likely improve on this effort.


GAME FOUR: MACAU 13 vs 4 EAST TIMOR

East Timor shrugged off last night’s disappointment with a good fighting performance tonight against Macau. They played with individual skill and flair which at times troubled their opposition. While they still lack structure in attack they certainly learnt some valuable lessons about defence from last night’s loss to Portugal.

Macau also learnt from the Portuguese onslaught and from the outset applied pressure in defence and this tactic paid dividends as the scoreboard shows. In attack they played with a good rotation system constantly feeding the target who laid the ball off to advancing runners. They created some good scoring chances and used a corner kick to good effect scoring once and ensuring the goal keeper saved regularly.

The first half was end to end and could have resulted in more goals if not for the frame work of the goals on several occasions. While the pace of the game was not as quick as Portugal or Brazil play, the players kept up the speed until half time. The second half was not quite as fast as players were becoming tired but both teams constantly tried their best to score. All in all it was a good game for the spectator to watch and produced a lot of goals.




Day 3

GAME FIVE: BRAZIL 27 vs 0 MACAU

Brazil looked like their old self tonight notching up 19 goals in the first half before easing up a little in the second half. They had the speed and precision passing that is reminiscent of Brazil and try as they might Macau just had no answer. Initially Macau defended zonal as they did against Angola but this meant that they were flat footed most of the time while the Brazilians buzzed around them. In the second half they employed a more man on man defence while still trying to play zone that seemed to work and in doing so they limited Brazil to only 8 goals. Unfortunately Macau could not capitalise on the limited chances they created as the speed of the Brazilians in defence showed why they can afford to pressure most teams.

All in all both teams showed improvement from their first outing and Brazil certainly showed that Portugal won’t have it all their own way. It will be interesting how Macau approach their final game against Portugal.


GAME SIX: ANGOLA 1 vs 4 PORTUGAL

Angola have improved with every game and really showed that they can play a bit. Portugal possibly started the game with great confidence after their first victory but had to fight hard to secure the win. The Angolan goalkeeper was superb and pulled off many top class saves to keep Angola in the hunt. Portugal didn’t seem as fluent as against East Timor but the defence of Angola was far superior than the Timorese could produce.

Angola once again looked comfortable under pressure and their speed and agility and obvious individual talent became an asset against a frustrated Portugal. Portugal probed and probed but just couldn’t find the last component of their attack to finish Angola off. While Angola produced some great chances their finishing was below par and in truth the Portuguese goalkeeper had only a handful of saves to make. Portugal’s goals were of top quality and needed to be as the Angolan defence threw themselves at everything to stop shots going toward goal. If the ball got past them then the goalkeeper was there to save it.

The crowd of about 500 was on the edge of their seat as Angola sought to finish with another goal. They pressured Portugal for the last 3 minutes but Portugal was savvy enough to be able to keep possession and create further chances for themselves. They found the back of the net in the last 2 minutes to secure the victory and leave Angola with only 3 points in the group and more than likely the Bronze medal.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com