Maritimo made the chances, Santa Clara made them count

Santa Clara won 2-0 at the Estádio do Marítimo with Tiago Ribeiro and Vinicius Lopes on the scoresheet, though the home side had the better of the chances.

Maritimo had 17 shots at home, nearly double the nine they usually take in home games, and still left the pitch beaten. Most of those efforts came from inside the penalty area, twelve in all, which is where a side hopes its shots will come from. The problem was that none of them found the net.

The clearest way to judge a chance is expected goals, usually shortened to xG, which gives each shot a score based on how often shots of that kind go in. Maritimo's chances added up to 2.1, against a home average of 0.76, so they created far more than they normally do. Football has a habit of punishing a side that makes that many chances and scores none.

Maritimo also had more of the ball than usual, 52% against a home average of 44.6%. Possession is not the same as chances, but it does mean the home side spent more of the game in the Santa Clara half than it normally does. Santa Clara had 48%, close to their away average of 46.6%, so the balance of the ball was not unusual for them.

Santa Clara took only 11 shots, below their away average of 12.7, and their chances were worth 0.84 expected goals against a usual 1.2. Yet they scored two goals, more than the 1.4 they average away from home. Tiago Ribeiro put them in front in the 36th minute, set up by Guilherme Romão, and Vinicius Lopes doubled the lead in the 60th minute, set up by Emanuel Moreira.

The visitors' goalkeeper, Neneca, was the busiest player on the pitch when it came to stopping shots, making six saves that kept the scoreline where it was. Santa Clara conceded nothing, which is better than their away average of 0.7 goals against. Maritimo's chances were worth less than the 1.22 they usually concede at home, so the defence in front of Neneca also kept things tight in its own way. Both sides picked up yellow cards, nobody was sent off, and no penalty was given, so nothing outside the football shaped the result.

In the table, Maritimo sit 14th after nine games, with 8 points from their home matches alone. Santa Clara are fourth on their away record, having collected 18 points from their nine away games. The gap between the two sides' fortunes away from home is wide, and this result added to it.

Maritimo have now lost five of their last six games, while Santa Clara have won three of their last six.

Player of the matchVinícius Lopes1 goal8.2

Tiago Ribeiro1 goal8.0

Neneca6 saves7.8

Emanuel Fernandes1 assist7.4