Portugal

Primeira Liga

Saturday 31st January 2026

Kick Off 18.00 On Time!

Rio Ave 0 F.C. Arouca 3, attendance 1,842

44’ 0-1

53’ 0-2

66’ 0-3

@ Estadio do Rio Ave Futebol Clube

Rua de Dom Sancho I

4480-876 Vila do Conde

€13 Admission

No Programme.

The 41 mile drive west from Felgueiras took about 45 minutes, calling in at the club shop at the stadium to buy tickets for the match, prior to heading off to check in at the hotel. There was no panic with getting in though, as the crowd of 1,842 was well short of the 5,244 stated capacity of this one sided ground. There’s a single stand, with cover in the centre section only, flanked by a block of open seats (one for away fans, the other for non members). It’s pretty poor to be staging top level football. Loads of free parking in the surrounding roads though and a tram stop right outside the ground too, which links you with Porto Airport.

The match was 12th versus 15th in the league table and was a game that barely set the pulses racing. Very pedestrian stuff, with build up play far too slow, with caution always the chosen option, rather than trying to be creative. I don’t recall too much of note from a dreadful first half, apart from Arouca breaking the deadlock in the final minute of the half, when a corner from the right was headed back across the six yard box and met with a close range header that beat the ‘keeper. Eight minutes into the second half they doubled their lead, when a cross was headed back across the box, resulting in an aerial challenge which struck a defender on the shoulder and sent the ball looping back over his ‘keeper for an unfortunate own goal. Their third goal came with twenty four minutes left, cutting in from the left before sending an angled shot into the far corner of the net from just outside the six yard box. They also had a header ruled out for offside with sixteen minutes left. Rio Ave offered nothing. The nearest they came to scoring was when an Arouca defender sliced a clearance against his own post in the final minute.