By CHRIS WRIGHT
Torrential rain turned the José Arcanjo Stadium in Olhão in last Sunday’s home game against Paços de Ferreira into a series of small lakes.
Olhanense adapted well and as early as the second minute should have been ahead when Castro forced the ball home but the officials deemed that it had not crossed the line.
The visitors came more into the game and looked dangerous on the attack. Their top scorer gave them the lead midway through the first half when Danielson’s persistence enabled him to feed the ball to William who lashed the ball home
The closest the Algarveans came to leveling the score was when Rui Duarte saw his in swinging corner rebound off the crossbar.
The second period was one way traffic as Olhanense pressed for an equaliser and they were unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute when Castro’s shot clearly hit the arm of Ricardo.
Rui Baião was booked for protesting; the second of seven yellow cards brandished by referee Hugo Miguel in a frenetic final forty-five minutes.
Olhanense got their deserved equaliser in the 74th minute when a shot from Rabiola was blocked only for substitute Zequinha to pounce on the rebound to score his first league goal for the club.
In stoppage time, the visitors had the ball in the net but the referee ruled for an infringement and the bedraggled home fans could breath freely again.
This was Olhanense’s eighth draw of the season and lifted them out of the relegation zone, but only on goal difference.
