Manager António Folha may well want to re-examine his tactical set up after Portimonense were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by erstwhile bottom club Aves last Monday evening, despite having almost twice as many shots as their opponents.
The Algarveans were always chasing the game without much success after the hosts took an early lead through captain Vítor Gomes, who slotted home a Defendi far post header back across goal mouth in the eighth minute.
The only highlight of an otherwise uneventful half nevertheless almost saw Portimonense go into the break on level terms, but Aves keeper Beunardeau did very well to keep out a 35th-minute point-blank effort from João Carlos.
The visitors began the second period much as the first, conceding again almost immediately as the irrepressible Gomes latched onto a loose ball in the area. Two goals to the worse, Folha rang the changes, bringing on Jackson Martinez, Lucas Fernandes and Wellington. The move almost paid dividends as Jackson got off a shot from a tight angle after rounding the keeper, only to see the ball cleared off the line. Instead, the missed opportunity was immediately punished by that man Gomes, who sealed his hat-trick when heading in a pin-point cross from Portimonense ‘old boy’ Amilton. Game over.
The defeat means that Portimonense remain on four points, level with Aves, Boavista and Nacional de Madeira, ahead of Sunday evening’s home match with Sporting Lisbon (8pm kick-off). The timing of that high-profile encounter, however, could not come at a more inopportune moment following an unsavoury incident indirectly involving the two clubs last weekend. During the U-23 ‘Liga Revelação’ fixture between Portimonense and Benfica, which finished 2-2, the 80th-minute substitution of on-loan Sporting midfielder Rafael Barbosa provoked a heated discussion between the player and Portimonense President Rodiney Sampaio. The exchange ended with an alleged head-butt from the official directed at the player, prompting Barbosa to immediately leave for Lisbon where he is receiving the full support of his parent club having lodged a complaint with police.
By SKIP BANDELE
