Portimonense produced some great football to overwhelm Sporting Lisbon B 4-0 at the municipal stadium last Sunday morning.
The visitors came under pressure from the word go with Paulinho, named second division player of the month ahead of the match, spearheading the forward drive. And it was the young Brazilian who opened the scoring 17 minutes into the contest after Amilton had turned the ball back into the area from the by-line.
Pires then doubled the advantage before the half-hour mark when latching on to a blocked Ewerton effort to finish with an acrobatic overhead kick, the veteran striker’s 15th goal of the season.
After the interval, Sporting were allowed to see a little more of the ball but only succeeded in creating more trouble for themselves. With 15 minutes remaining, Amilton carved up the hapless Lions’ defence, finishing a great solo effort with aplomb to make it 3-0.
There was still time for Ewerton to get his name on the score sheet, the 24-year-old midfielder being quickest to react after Captain Ricardo Pessoa had struck the post in the closing moments, to establish the final 4-0 result.
Dispirited Sporting coach João de Deus, who ironically saw ex-Portimão youngster Pedro Delgado as his most effective player, admitted after the match that “there was a great gulf in class between the two sides” and that “the best team in the division had won deservedly”.
The emphatic victory further cemented Portimonense’s position at the head of affairs as closest rivals Aves dropped points in Porto during a goalless draw while erstwhile third-placed side Santa Clara were overtaken by Académica de Coimbra following a 5-0 thrashing at Guimarães.
Manager Vítor Oliveira’s promotion favourites are next in action away to Penafiel, fifth in the league table as a result of a plucky 3-2 win at Covilhã, this Saturday morning for a third successive televised 11.15am kick-off.
By SKIP BANDELE
