Portugal vs. Russia: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 7, 2013

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Portugal picked up three massive points after beating Russia, 1-0, in Lisbon.

Coming into the match, Russia were sitting atop Group F on 12 points in 2014 World Cup qualification. The Portuguese were a point back.

The goal came off the boot of Helder Postiga in the ninth minute off a pretty simple enough free kick. Miguel Veloso delivered in a very nice ball that floated in over the top from the left. The Russian defense lost track of their men, and Postiga was left unmarked to poke it in without any challenge from Igor Akinfeev.

Portuguese football blogger Tom Kundert was very happy with Portugal scoring in the early stages of the match:



It was just disorganization from the Russian defense, which set the tone in a match where Portugal always looked the better side on the pitch.

Russian supporters might feel aggrieved by a penalty shout that was denied by the official in the first half. Fabio Coentrao seemed to have handled the ball, but nothing was called. As Russian Premier League commentator John Bradley pointed out, that one play didn't outweigh the Russians' lack of an attack:



Russia didn't offer much in the match. They were able to get forward a little bit, but they offered no real threat in the first half, aside from the penalty shout. It was only in the 60th minute that they got their first shot on goal, courtesy of Alesandr Kerzhakov.

It wasn't much, but it offered hope to their supporters, like RussianFootballNews:



Most of the match was Cristiano Ronaldo dribbling the ball down the left flank, looking to get another goal for Postiga or cutting inside to have an effort himself. It's a shame he didn't find a goal, as that was the only thing missing from his performance.

There were some efforts for both sides as the match dragged on. Credit Akinfeev and his opposite number, Rui Patricio, for coming up big when they needed to l...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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