In this week 25 match on Mar 17th, Santa Clara will play host to Rio Ave in a clash of these two extremely mismatched Primeira Liga teams. The game day is forecasted to be a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 15 degrees, which is great football weather. Santa Clara is fresh off their 0-1 loss against Paços de Ferreira. Antunes struck first for Paços de Ferreira in the 54th minute on a penalty, and that single goal was all that was necessary as neither team could manage any more scoring In the end, Santa Clara was frustrated by Paços de Ferreira’s defence and couldn’t put any tallies on the board. Paços de Ferreira ended the match with the shutout victory. Santa Clara looks to improve on their recent performance, having lost 8 of their last 10, while in their last match, Rio Ave recorded a 2-1 win against Gil Vicente. Fabio Ronaldo Costa Conceicao struck first for Rio Ave in the 15th minute on a feed from André Pereira, then Joao Pedro Loureiro da Costa added another in the 3rd minute of the first half’s stoppage time. Rio Ave is looking for direction having earned 11 points in their last 10 matches.
Santa Clara and Rio Ave last played eachother at the Estádio Do Rio Ave Futebol Clube on the 2nd of October. Rio Ave won by a score of 1 to 0. Emmanuel Boateng scored the first goal for Rio Ave in the 15th minute, and that was all the excitement the two teams could muster At the end of 90 a dissapointed Santa Clara couldn’t manage to score, and Rio Ave took the shutout win.
Fabio Ronaldo Costa Conceicao has been the most effective weapon for Rio Ave lately. The Portugeese attacker has netted 2 goals in his last 5 matches. Santa Clara is having problems scoring lately. Their top scorers, Xavi Quintillà and Gabriel Silva Vieira each only have 1 goal in their last 5.