Portimonense ended 37 years of misery by recording their first victory at Farense’s São Luís stadium since 1978 last Wednesday afternoon.
Ahead of the game pundits would have been forgiven for predicting a draw given that the home team had not lost in front of their own fans so far this season while the visitors remained unbeaten on their travels.
Portimonense opened the hostilities with what by now seems to have become their trademark style: a quick ball forward from Ewerton found Pires who, unmarked, produced a lightning strike as early as the seventh minute.
Farense reacted well and should have at least levelled the match on several occasions, with Rambe hitting both the post and crossbar as well as wasting a handful of further opportunities.
The equaliser finally came just after the interval when Harramiz found the back of the net but this was not to be Farense’s afternoon.
Man of the match Fabrício picked up the ball in midfield on the hour mark and finished off a spectacular solo effort with what turned out to be the winning strike.
The hosts weakened visibly following the 76th-minute dismissal of Hugo Ventosa and only the woodwork twice prevented Theo Ryuki from extending Portimonense’s 2-1 advantage even further.
Four days later, manager José Augusto’s men went to high-flying Braga B where Jadson continued the momentum with a strike inside the opening five minutes.
Following a dominant first half from the visitors, the home side emerged the stronger from the tunnel and two goals in quick succession soon had Braga in front.
Augusto reacted by sending three substitutes into the fray, two of which, Ferreira and Dener, subsequently turned the match around with a goal a piece during the final 10 minutes of the pulsating encounter.
The 3-2 success coupled with the earlier win in Faro sees Portimonense in fourth place, only one point behind Chaves, with the other two clubs in the top four, Porto B and Sporting B, barred from promotion.
Following the international break, Santa Clara (Azores) will be visiting the Algarve on October 21 for one of the geographically furthest away fixtures in European football.
Portimonense have been drawn away to non-league Pampilhosa in the third round of the Portuguese FA Cup to be played on October 18.
By SKIP BANDELE
