Marítimo v Arouca

3.30pm 23 October 2022

Liga Portugal
Marítimo 1 Arouca 1 (att 9,072)

We were in a holiday apartment in Funchal just yards from Marítimo's stadium, so it would have been frustrating had they not been at home during our stay in Madeira.

A Sunday afternoon visit of Arouca was perfect, with tickets plentiful and inexpensive, and the fixture unlikely to be moved to a less convenient slot for live TV.

The stadium has been rebuilt in recent years, and is now a neat all-covered and all-seated bowl with a capacity of around 11,000. The official crowd for this game, which looked on the high side, was easily the highest for a home game so far this season.

It was a lively and entertaining, especially in the first half when both goals were scored. Marítimo went ahead early, and looked fairly comfortable until a defensive slip presented Arouca with an equaliser just before half time.

Both sides had chances in the second half but neither could take them, and as the final whistle got nearer Arouca in particular appeared to settle for a point.