Liga Bwin: Portimonense 0-1 Gil Vicente
Portimonense manager Paulo Sérgio’s words were laced with sarcasm as he congratulated the league on scheduling Sunday’s home match for 3.30pm in the afternoon on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far.
The temperature approached 40 degrees Celsius as the two teams took to the pitch in front of 717 fans and it was the home side who dominated with Luquinha, Willyan and Beto coming close to scoring whilst the visitors sat back without managing a single shot on goal during the opening 45 minutes.
Following the interval, Lucas and Aylton Boa Morte failed to take advantage of further opportunities to put Portimonense ahead before the Algarveans gradually ran out of steam, allowing Gil Vicente’s Samuel Lino to cover half the length of the field unopposed and slot home with the help of a slight deflection for the only goal of the encounter on the hour mark.
Sergio introduced four pairs of fresh legs during the closing 20 minutes but to no avail as the heat took its toll. Next up is a trip north to Tondela, who have a home win over Santa Clara followed by defeat at newly-promoted Vizela last Saturday to book, where cooler heads will hopefully prevail.
On the transfer front, the acquisitions of central defender Pedrão and winger Iván Angulo, both on a season-long loan from Brazil’s Palmeiras with an option to buy, have been completed as club president and majority shareholder Rodiney Sampaio issued public assurances that top scorer Beto “will not be going anywhere for now”.
By SKIP BANDELE
