Portimonense followed up their recent Cup win over Sporting Lisbon with another convincing 2-0 home victory over the Lions’ second division B team.
The tone was set as early as the ninth minute when an André Carvalhas corner crossed Sporting keeper Pedro Silva’s line only for referee Daniel Cardoso to wave play on. Cardoso again attracted attention of the wrong kind on the half-hour mark when he showed local star player Ewerton a straight red card for an innocuous-looking trip while lying prone.
Undeterred, the 10 remaining Portimonense players continued to dominate their anything-but-ambitious opponents coming closest to scoring when a Fabrício free-kick hit the bar just before the interval.
The woodwork again came to Sporting’s rescue immediately after the re-start, keeping out a Fidelis header. However, the long overdue goal finally arrived when the recently substituted Zambujo buried a powerful shot just inside the stranded Silva’s post. Captain Ricardo Pessoa then wrapped matters up when successfully converting from the penalty spot 10 minutes from the end.
Before Portimonense return to crunch league action at Feirense, three points ahead in the second promotion spot, on Sunday (11.15am kick-off, live on SportTV1) manager José Augusto’s warriors faced Marítimo during Wednesday evening’s League Cup semi-final on Madeira (played after the Resident went to press) – Força Portimonense!
By SKIP BANDELE
Photo: Portimonense coach José Augusto has reason to smile
Photo by: ESTELA SILVA/LUSA
