Despite enjoying almost total domination against visiting Chaves on Sunday – 14 shots without a single reply on target from open play – Portimonense saw their six-game unbeaten run ended from the penalty spot with the last kick of the afternoon.
Over 2,500 fans witnessed a largely uneventful opening 45 minutes, during which patient possession play from the Algarveans led to the first moment of real danger just before the half-hour mark when outstanding Chaves keeper António Felipe raced out of his area to clear from the advancing Shoya Nakajima.
Manager Vítor Oliveira’s men should have gone into the interval one goal to the good but Fabrício managed to shoot narrowly wide after managing to shake off his marker when clear.
Portimonense stepped up the pressure as the second half got under way and it was Fabrício again who did everything but score when dispossessing a Chaves defender in the 53rd minute, only to see his goal-bound effort brilliantly tipped over by Felipe.
Not long after, Ruben Fernandes, Paulinho and Fabrício were taking pot shots at the opposition goal from inside the area but somehow the ball failed to end up in the back of the net.
With a quarter-of-an-hour remaining, Felipe excelled once more in keeping out a powerful Nakajima drive before Ewerton saw his close-range volley following a free kick clear the Chaves bar by a matter of inches.
Approaching injury time, Wellington latched on to a blocked Pires shot but saw his follow-up safely gathered by Felipe.
Calamity then struck in the closing moments, a prone Lucas in the Portimonense area appearing to stick out a foot and bringing down the charging Platiny: referee Fábio Veríssimo pointed to the spot without seeing the need to consult a video replay and Chaves captain Pedro Tiba stepped up confidently to convert for the most unlikely of wins as the final whistle was blown.
“We were punished for our wastefulness,” Oliveira said afterwards. “We created five or six clear chances but failed to score.”
The 1-0 defeat adds to the disappointment of the previous Monday’s goalless draw at bottom club Estoril, the two matches netting a single counter instead of what could potentially have been a six-point haul prior to next Sunday’s difficult year-ending league fixture at Sporting Lisbon. The other remaining games before January are both League Cup group visits to Benfica and Braga.
By SKIP BANDELE
