A combination of bad refereeing and poor finishing cost Portimonense two points as the Algarveans were held to a goalless draw in Mafra.
Only match official Rui Costa will know why he did not allow a perfectly valid sixth minute Fidelis strike to stand – the ball had come off a Mafra defender and live television pictures showed that there was absolutely no justification for an offside ruling.
For the rest of the match, Portimonense laid siege to the opposition goal – 11 corner kicks vs none for the hosts – and various attempts from Lucas, Carvalhas, Jadson, Ferreira or Fabricio should have produced a more positive result. In the event former Paris Saint-Germaine keeper Mory Diaw excelled between the posts and the more-than-deserved goal did not arrive.
Next up is Saturday’s brought-forward home game against Sporting B – 11.15am kick-off live on SportTV1 – when manager José Augusto’s men will attempt to close the now four-point gap on joint promotion race leaders Freamunde and Chaves.
Thereafter, Portimonense travel to Madeira on Wednesday for the much-anticipated League Cup semi-final against Marítimo.
Meanwhile, the Algarveans have strengthened their squad with the on-loan acquisition of Brazilian duo Jean Felipe and Olávio Junior from Atlético Paranaense who play on the right wing and in a forward position respectively.
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