Big points

Last Sunday afternoon, Portimonense enjoyed a relatively untroubled 2-1 victory over Marítimo B to make it six games without defeat and maintain fifth place in Portugal’s second tier.
Brazilian forward Dyego Souza headed home as early as the fourth minute, following good work from Mazola on the right wing, to set the tone against an otherwise resilient Madeira side containing several A-team players.
The visitors drew level just before the half-hour mark, when a rare counter attack resulted in a great finish from Edivândio, finally ending Portimonense keeper Ricardo Ferreira’s 515-minute spell without conceding a goal.
Only a packed Marítimo defence prevented the Algarveans from regaining the lead before the interval, and it took a further quarter of an hour after the re-start until Souza was able to finish off a move involving Zambujo and Fabrício and establish the final score line.
Elsewhere, promotion rivals Penafiel also recorded a home win to stay two points ahead of Lázaro Oliveira’s men, while top-placed Moreirense will have given the Portimonense manager plenty to think about after thrashing Trofense 7-1 away ahead of this Sunday’s clash between the two contenders in Moreira de Cónegos. Although that result was achieved against a relegation-threatened club reduced to ten men before half time, very experienced new coach Toni Conceiçao – ex-Benfica, Bordeaux and Seville, amongst others – is sure to get the best out of his squad which includes Portimão old boys Pires and Ricardo Nascimento, both of whom were amongst the scorers at the weekend.
By Skip Bandele