Bruno Ribeiro, who played for Leeds United, Sheffield United and managed Port Vale, is the new manager at Olhanense.
The 44-year-old former Portugal U20 international, who has previously managed SC Farense, has most recently been coach of Angola outfit Interclube. The change at the top was the result of Primeira Liga SC Braga sacking coach Sá Pinto and then promoting reserve team boss Rúben Amorim to replace him.
Os Arsenalistas moved quickly to fill the vacant position within the ‘B’ team setup and Olhanense’s young progressive manager Vasco Faísca was the man they turned to.
Rumour is that Braga will also be signing Olhanense’s wing-back 19-year-old Leonardo Lelo who made his debut for the Portugal U20 international team a few months ago.
SC Olhanense, chasing the dream of a return to the Segunda Liga, continued their unbeaten run dating back to mid-September in the Campeonato de Portugal Division D with the 5-1 demolition of third place Pinhalnovense.
The last game before the festive break was a wonderful present for the fans who had seen the team drop points in their previous two games against mid-table Amora and Loures. Pinhalnovense, who were unbeaten at home, found themselves three goals down after just 19 minutes as João Vasco (8′), Sapara (16′) and Caleb (19′) ran amok.
The league’s top scorer Hassan added Olhanense’s fourth in the 29th minute before the home side pulled a goal back from the penalty spot just before the break. But there was no stopping Olhanense who went up the other end and Rafael Tavares made it 5-1 deep into first-half stoppage time.
The second period was an anti-climax although the home side did miss a penalty and the visitors had substitute Guilherme sent-off near the end. Thirty-six points from a maximum possible of 45 is promotion form and Olhanense could even meet their ex-manager in the play-offs as Braga ‘B’ are currently in second place in Division A.
The Portuguese-Guinean winger Muhamed Varela Djamanca, who has been training with Olhanense since October, has finally put pen-to-paper and is awaiting international clearance. The 21-year-old has previously had experience in Italy following spells at Belenenses, Real SC, Gil Vicente, Sporting and D. Aves.
The next home game is this Sunday (January 5) against Oriental Lisboa – kick-off 3pm at the José Arcanjo Stadium, Olhão (behind McDonalds on the EN125).
By CHRIS WRIGHT
