How Has Mide Shodipo Got On In Portugal?

Former QPR and Lincoln City winger Mide Shodipo moved to Portugal in the winter window, joining Feirense having finished a short term deal with The Imps.

At the time, Azuis da Feira was 15th in the table and in dire need of a lift to avoid the drop. In Liga Portugal SABSEG, the second tier of Portuguese football, the bottom two teams are relegated, while the team in 18th has to enter a play-off with a side from the division below.

How did the club fare after the arrival of the 25-year-old? The answer is not too well at all. After arriving at the end of January, the team won just two matches in the regular season. That left them 18th in the table, having suffered defeat against Belenenses and drawn with Villaverdense, the two teams below them in the table. It was a horrible run, which resulted in them facing third-tier outfit Lusitania Lourosa for their spot in the second tier.

Disaster struck in the first leg – they lost 1-0. That left them with a nervous week-long wait for the second leg, to be played at their home ground, Estádio Marcolino de Castro. Luck was on their side, though – they triumphed 3-0 to save their skin and remain in the second tier.

What of Shodipo? He missed one of their wins, so after joining found himself on a run of nine matches without a win. His impact was minimal, and when he did finally score, in his ninth outing, it was to give them a 2-0 lead against Maritimo. With just 22 minutes on the clock they led, but eventually lost 3-2.

Their next game, a 1-0 win against União de Leiria, was the only one Shodipo appeared in that they won, and it was enough to ensure they went into the final game of the season knowing they were safe. With the pressure off, Shodipo grabbed his second goal of the campaign, to draw with the bottom side.

In total, his played 699 minutes across 13 matches, but was either a sub coming on, or going off, in every game he played. He did suffer from playing in multiple positions, including right wing-back, left wing-back, centre forward and attacking midfield. That said, his stats didn’t set ther world alight – he averaged just 19 passes per 90 minutes, and 1.42 shots, with a 36.4% accuracy.

He is a player who likes to get on the ball, and his dribble numbers reflected that, with 5.54 per game at 58.1% success rate, which is decent. However, with 2.7 crosses per game at 28.6% accuracy, the side will be hoping he can find his feet next season, now he’s been in the country a while.