LIGA NOS: MARÍTIMO 1-1 PORTIMONENSE
One more match against very beatable opposition, two more points dropped and a long way from the mid-table stability targeted at the beginning of the season – Portimonense’s return of one win and five draws from 11 games sees the Algarveans anchored firmly towards the bottom of the league table, level on eight points with one-but-last Paços de Ferreira, and in danger of losing touch with the remainder of the field heading into the latest international break.
Manager António Folha, subject to a fans’ petition calling for his removal, still enjoys the support of directors, but surely the club cannot sit still and merely hope for a change of fortune while its much-publicised ‘project’ runs aground, nullifying everything that has been achieved over the past three years.
Certainly the next home match against high-flying Famalicão on November 30 does not promise much of a reprieve, and a further defeat will only compound the current crisis.
Meanwhile in Madeira last Sunday afternoon, Folha commended his team for “showing the courage and commitment” he had asked for, yet five shots on target and another failure to close out a match they were winning tells a different story.
Aylton Boa Morte did have the ball in the back of the net early on, albeit from a hopelessly offside position, but it was Marítimo who peppered the Portimonense goal thereafter until a stunning Lucas Fernandes strike from outside the area handed the visitors an unexpected 40th-minute lead.
Buoyed by the advantage, Possignolo, Rodrigo, Anzai and Tabata all had the opportunity to make the game safe both before and after the interval but did not succeed. Instead, the always-threatening Getterson lashed the ball home with 20 minutes remaining on the clock to restore parity.
By that time, weak referee André Narciso had already issued three of a total of 10 (!) second-half cautions, causing constant interruptions to the flow of the encounter. The closing highlight was then provided by keeper Ricardo Ferreira who produced a magnificent late save to deny, what otherwise would have been, a Jorge Correa match winner.
By SKIP BANDELE
