LIGA BWIN: BOAVISTA 4-2 PORTIMONENSE
Portimonense suffered a second successive away defeat within seven days as Boavista emerged the convincing 4-2 winners of an entertaining encounter last Sunday evening.
Following a goalless opening half during which Ibrahima came closest to breaking the deadlock, the hosts needed less than 10 second-half minutes to establish a comfortable advantage.
Yusupha headed home shortly after the restart and Bruno doubled the score with a shot from a tight angle which eluded Nakajima in the Algarveans’ goal.
Almost by return, a looping Moufi header then gave Portimonense brief hope only for Mangas to make it 3-1 in the 75th minute. A second from Yusupha from a counterattack increased the score line to 4-1 before a deflected Paulo Estrela effort offered some consolation without threatening the outcome of the match.
As a result, Portimonense’s position is becoming increasingly precarious, their current 13th place on 20 points in the table seeing them only one and two points ahead of Estoril and Gil Vicente, both of which had a game in hand at the time of writing.
The bottom of the table is held up by Santa Clara (14 points), Marítimo (13 points) and beaten off last Paços de Ferreira on six counters who provide the opposition back at the Municipal Stadium next Monday night (7pm kick-off) for a ‘must win’ clash.
Meanwhile, latest transfer window signings Lucas Alves, Maurício Júnior and Tonito have been joined by highly regarded ex-Corinthians 20-year-old Brazilian central defender João Victor Tornich, better known as ‘Alemão’, 28-year-old South Korean international Park Ji-soo, 24-year-old Brazilian midfielder Lucas Ventura and 21-year-old Colombian right back Carlos Garces.
On deadline Tuesday, 26-year-old Sérgio Conceição became the last addition, the son of the Porto manager arriving from Belgian side Seraing.
Also, most likely to now stay in the Algarve until at least the end of the season is Filipe Relvas, after Portimonense rejected a last-minute €7.5 million offer from Italian Beto club, Udinese.
A division below, fellow Algarveans Farense have parted company with coach Vasco Faísca following two 1-0 losses to promotion rivals.
The club from the region’s capital still occupies second place but faces third-placed Estrela Amadora this Friday evening at their São Luís ground.
By SKIP BANDELE
