Portimonense concluded what ultimately turned out to be a disappointing season with a low-key 1-0 home win over Oliveirense.
In front of only 600 non-paying fans, the Algarveans exerted early pressure before the visitors hit the bar just before the interval. The players were welcomed back to a chorus of “winter champions, beaten in summer” as Wakaso buried a piledriver on the hour-mark to decide the issue.
The three points allowed Portimonense to finish in seventh place, 12 points behind first placed Moreirense, automatically promoted alongside Penafiel, and four points behind play-off bound Aves who will take on Paços de Ferreira over two legs on the 16th and 21st of this month.
For now, the first priority for the club from the region’s second city must be to appoint a new manager as soon as possible and attempt to retain as many of the present first team as possible in order to mount a renewed challenge for top tier football when the 2014/15 season gets under way in late summer.
One highlight for fans to look forward to is the presence of three Algarve teams in the new regionalised second division (south) with away trips to both Faro and Olhão promising to provide additional spice to the fixture list.
