Premier Division

SL Benfica  5    Hayes & Hillingdon  2

Saturday, 08 March 2025

In what was a very big game between two title contenders in the Premier Division of the Middlesex County Football League, SL Benfica faced Hayes & Hillingdon on Saturday afternoon, at Spratleys Meadow (Amersham Town FC). The league leaders, SL Benfica, started this game with 45 points from 19 matches played. Hayes & Hillingdon started this game in seventh place in the table, after 16 games played. And, the away side on Saturday, started this game nine points behind SL Benfica in the league table, with three games in hand over them. This good game of football would finish 5-2 to SL Benfica. Early on in the match, after the ten minute mark, and after Benfica had a low effort from distance which was gathered by Hayes & Hillingdon’s goalkeeper, Samuel Deacon, the first real goalscoring chance of the game was created. The chance arrived as the result of a good SL Benfica move. As Helder Mannessim’s clever pass would find the run of Marco Raposo, down the left-hand side of the visitor’s box. Marco Raposo’s decent lofted effort would loop over the crossbar, however.

After a Hayes & Hillingdon free-kick from the right-hand side of the pitch, had been cleared by a Benfica defender, the ball came to Ben McCarron, on the edge of the box. His fine effort on the half-volley would whistle just wide of the goalkeeper’s left-hand post. Around five minutes later, a free-kick was awarded to Gavin Shepherd’s Hayes & Hillingdon side, out on the left flank, and around 20 to 25 yards out from the Benfica goal. Charlie Casey’s clever low effort on goal from a difficult angle, was pushed away by the Benfica goalkeeper, Welber Sobrinho. At the other end of the pitch, soon after, Diogo Da Silva’s corner-kick delivery towards the back post of the Hayes & Hillingdon goal, was met by Karanjeet Pal, whose headed effort went over the goal. Samuel King Dunnell would then hit a low effort, from some 20 yards out, wide of Samuel Deacon’s goal.

The game would really come to life, during the latter stages of the first half. Firstly, Ricky Nelson’s SL Benfica side would take the lead in the game. The opening goal of the game arrived after a clever diagonal ball from out on the left flank, had found the run of Egidio Mahmoud, in space, down the right-hand side of the Hayes & Hillingdon penalty area. The SL Benfica captain and forward would finish really well into the top right-hand corner of the goal, courtesy of a powerful effort, 1-0. However, just before half-time, Hayes & Hillingdon were awarded a penalty. Liam Walford had initially done well to hold the ball up with his back to goal, inside of the home team’s box. The away team’s centre-forward, Liam Walford, (he had worked really hard off the ball, so far in this game), would then pass the ball to Chris Kyriakides, who was tripped by a Benfica defender inside of the penalty area. Charlie Casey would then step up to clinically find the bottom left-hand corner of the goal, 1-1.

SL Benfica had played well during the first half of this big match, but they started the second half with an even greater intensity. Benfica would soon regain the lead, early on in the second half. Diogo Da Silva would pick the ball up on the edge of the Hayes & Hillingdon penalty area, before then threading a pass into the path of Egidio Mahmoud, on the right-hand side of the box. Mahmoud would then cleverly chip the ball over the goalkeeper, as he found the left-hand corner of the goal, 2-1. A couple of minutes later, SL Benfica were awarded a free-kick in a central position, and around 25 yards out from goal. Wilgner Souza’s powerful low effort would find the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, with Deacon just being unable to keep the ball out, 3-1. And things got even better for the home side, who would extend their lead further, soon after. Diogo Da Silva would once again assist Egidio Mahmoud, who he found with a good threaded pass across the floor, and in a bit of space down the right-hand side of the Hayes & Hillingdon box, Benfica’s captain would clinically curl an effort into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal, 4-1.

SL Benfica were now completely dominating this game of football, and their top goalscorer, Rafael Barbosa Dos Santos, had now entered the pitch, after being substituted on. And the skilful forward would, soon after entering the pitch, play a really good back-heeled pass into the path of Egidio Mahmoud, who raced forward, in behind of the Hayes & Hillingdon defence, and into their penalty area. Mahmoud would partially round the outrushing goalkeeper, before hitting an effort narrowly wide of the goal, from a tight angle. A couple of minutes later, Hayes & Hillingdon would manage to get a goal back in the game. Connor Goodliffe’s free-kick delivery (from the left-hand side of the pitch) would bounce off of Sam Baigent, at the near post of the Benfica goal, as the ball went past their goalkeeper and into the goal, 4-2.

Any chance of a late fightback from Hayes & Hillingdon, to try and get something from this game, was made nearly impossible, after their defender Michael Gunster was shown a straight red card following a foul on Benfica forward Laye Sangare. Sangare was about to take the ball down the left-hand side of the visitor’s box, when he was fouled by the sliding Hayes & Hillingdon defender. Marco Raposo’s resulting lofted free-kick into the penalty area, was punched by Samuel Deacon, but the ball would rebound off of Samuel King Dunnell, who was close to the goalkeeper, before going into the goal, 5-2. This was a game between two very good sides in the Premier Division of the Middlesex League. However, today was SL Benfica’s day, as the home side greatly deserved to get all three points, as the result of a great all-round team performance, in what was such a big win for them. Ricky Nelson’s side managed the game really well against a quality Hayes & Hillingdon side, who had already got the better of them at home, this season. The intensity in which Benfica played so much of the game at, including during the second half, was very admirable. They were also highly creative with the ball, and clinical in front of goal.

Diogo Da Silva, Samuel King Dunnell, Marco Raposo, and Karanjeet Pal, were just some of Benfica’s impressive performers on the day, in what was a really fine team performance from them. However, with an excellent hat-trick of goals, the highly creative and talented Egidio Mahmoud, was my player of the match.

This match report was written by Lennon, who writes on non-League and grassroots football on his blog – nonleagueandacademyfootballwriter.co.uk