União Santarém and Olivelinse shared the points in a Liga 3 Regular Season fixture on Friday evening. The match ended 1-1 after a penalty converted by J. Daniel and an equaliser from A. Sousa. By then the visitors had already seen R. Marques sent off, and the game shifted on its axis.
Olivelinse took the lead in the 58th minute when J. Daniel struck from the spot. It was his penalty goal, and the visitors briefly carried the advantage. União Santarém responded with a flurry of substitutions in the 63rd minute, bringing on D. Ressurreicao, G. Isnaba and D. Vinhas alongside Kiko Felix who had already come off earlier. And here's the thing — they were playing with ten men.
A. Sousa restored parity in the 72nd minute, and the hosts refused to go away from their equaliser. There were more changes as the match wore on, with B. Sousa, Joao Tavares and Y. Rodriguez all entering the fray in the 82nd minute. V. Braga made a late appearance in stoppage time as União Santarém pushed for the win.
União Santarém dominated possession at 51 per cent and recorded 109 attacks compared to their opponents' 94. But the numbers tell a different story — they had 12 shots with only three on target, while Olivelinse managed two shots on target from just three attempts. The visitors' red card meant they were second to everything in terms of volume, yet they held firm.
The result leaves União Santarém in 10th place with one point from four games, still searching for their first victory. Olivelinse move up to fifth with five points, a win, two draws and one defeat. To be fair, neither side looked like they'd find a winner after the momentum shifted following the dismissal.