AB Braga Women opened their 1st Division season with a convincing 29:19 victory over São Pedro do Sul on Saturday afternoon in Vila do Conde. The home side moved straight into second place with three points from one game, while the visitors remain ninth having started with a draw.
By then it was clear this would not be a contest for long. Braga have not won since their last outing before the break, and here they turned to the kids — young players who seem to remember what the older squad forgot. The scoreline told the story quickly enough.
São Pedro do Sul had only just seen the game out against a different opponent last time out, but this was altogether different. The visitors switched off at the back and Braga punished them from every opportunity. A clean sheet at home would have been generous given the traffic.
The table goes out of the window in these games when you are playing at home. Braga's recent results show a team that needed to rediscover its edge, and they found it. Three points and a ten-goal margin is not nothing when you are trying to set a tone.
São Pedro do Sul's opening draw against Almedina Garrett had suggested they might be competitive. But against a side that went for the jugular from the first whistle, they were exposed. The gap between intention and execution was wider than anyone anticipated.