Portimonense gained only their second away point of the current campaign when sharing the spoils after a 1-1 draw with Moreirense last Saturday afternoon.
Manager Vítor Oliveira’s men, deprived of the services of the influential Fabrício due to a last-minute hip injury, got off to the perfect start when Paulinho set up Dener for the opening goal only three minutes into the match.
The hosts reacted well to the early setback, however, hitting the post before equalising through Jhonder Cádiz who latched onto a Neto long-ball on the quarter-hour mark. Thereafter, Portimonense proved to be the more creative side with Pires, Paulinho and Nakajima all going close before keeper Ricardo Ferreira was forced into two good saves at the other end just before the interval.
The second half continued much in the same vein, but Moreirense keeper Jhonatan was rarely troubled as wayward finishing from the Algarveans in general and opening marksman Dener in particular precluded any further score.
After the game, Vítor Oliveira was pleased to have taken a point while simultaneously lamenting the lost opportunity to have recorded a first away win of the season.
A lack of clean sheets in the league is also troubling the veteran coach who will be hoping to remedy that situation by the time Tondela come to visit on Saturday, November 25, with injured defenders Jadson, Marcel, Lucas and Ricardo Pessoa all expected to be back after the long international break.
Before then Portimonense will have to be at their best if they are to progress from their Portuguese FA fourth round tie against Porto scheduled for next Friday, November 17.
By SKIP BANDELE
