Matthew Trmal has lived to see it. For the first time since September he started in the starting lineup

The Czech goalkeeper, who plays for the Portuguese club Vitória Guimaraes, certainly imagined a much heavier match load in his second season with the club. He started the season as the number one goalkeeper, but the return of his main rival Bruno Varela after an injury changed the situation. Trmal had to wait for his opportunity since September. And now it has finally come.

After the first seven league games, the former Slovácko goalkeeper seemed to have found a place in coach Pepe Miguel’s line-up. His main competitor for the starting line-up Bruno Varela was injured, Trmal also managed to keep 4 clean sheets in 7 matches.

However, the situation has changed with the return of former Portugal youth international Bruno Varela, a 27-year-old goalkeeper who has had stints at Benfica Lisbon and Ajax Amsterdam. The match against Benfica (1::3) on 25 September last year was the last match the Czech goalkeeper had played so far. Since then, Varela has kept goal despite conceding quite a lot of goals and not keeping a single clean sheet in the league.

The opportunity for the Znojmo native came again in the 19th round of the Portuguese league when Vitória hosted Estoril. Bruno Varela was absent due to coronavirus infection and the Czech goalkeeper managed to replace him fully, helping his team to a 3-1 victory. Vitória also ended an unpleasant four-game winless streak.

Trmal made a very important save right at the beginning of the match, when he made a great reflex save on the visitors’ striker. Estoril won the first half 1:0, but Rochinha managed to score in the second half and then Oscar Estupinan scored twice. In total, Vitória had seven shots on goal, three of them on the Slovácko’s goal. He also picked up his second yellow card of the season in the 79th minute. Otherwise, he gave a reliable performance and contributed significantly to the victory.

Thanks to this win, Guimaraes are still within sight of the European Cup places. The team, which has European champion Ricardo Quaresma in its ranks, is only three points behind sixth-placed Gil Vicente. The question remains whether the Czech goalkeeper will also help the team in the fight for the top positions.

Source: Livesport, CTK, Guimaraes Digital, Transfermarkt