Vitória de Guimarães cemented their UEFA position by triumphing in the hot Minho derby against SC Braga, 2-1 (2-0, at half-time), which had three red cards (one for the home team and two for the away team) . Braga failed to attack second place, which still belongs to FC Porto, with two points of advantage.
An uneasy entry by the Warriors’ centre-backs made the strategy that Artur Jorge’s team had for this challenge implode. A yellow card for Niakaté and, later, an identical card for Tormena illustrate the pale image of Braga, which was accentuated with a foul committed by the Frenchman in the area on Safira, subject to a penalty.
Following this move, Niakaté was expelled and from the 11-meter mark Tiago Silva did not forgive, putting Moreno Teixeira’s team in the lead, in the 31st minute.
Vitória maintained their aggressiveness and objectivity on the field and, ten minutes after the first goal, Safira increased the score, with a tremendous header from André Amaro’s cross.
SC Braga tried to react in the second half, but late. He managed to remove Tiago Silva from the field, due to the accumulation of yellow cards, restoring the numerical equality of players on the field, in the 54th minute, and only mitigated the disadvantage, by Djaló, in the 88th minute, leaving little margin to enable the tie.
With this outcome, the Victorians continue a series of five games without losing (only a draw in the middle, last week with Casa Pia). The Arsenalistas end a cycle of three consecutive triumphs.