Leshá and São João da Madeira played out a 1-1 draw in Liga 3's opening round on Saturday. D. Kauan opened the scoring for the hosts before São João rescued a point with a late strike.
Kauan gave Leshá the lead in the thirtieth-third minute, and the hosts pressed forward. By then they had three yellow cards to show — Ruca Morgado, David Rebelo and R. Valente all received bookings. C. Avelino went off in the sixty-seventh minute, making way for Zequinha who had missed a penalty in the fifty-second.
And here's the thing — the statistics tell one story while the result suggests another. Leshá dominated possession at 62 per cent with 81 attacks compared to São João's 53. They registered seven shots on target against just one for the visitors. To be fair, São João made do with what they had, and eventually found an equaliser in the ninety-fifth minute.
Both sides reshuffled their lines in the final quarter. D. Kauan and A. Coutinho changed places in the seventy-second and seventy-third minutes, R. Ferreira came on for the hosts in the eighty-second, and T. Campas arrived for São João as the clock hit ninety.
The result keeps Leshá in eighth place with four points from four games, while São João remain in ninth on two points. Neither side has won yet this season. Leshá have suffered two defeats already, and São João have two losses to add to their two draws.