Portimonense lost 2-1 to Marítimo, in a game of the 16th round of the I Liga, played this Saturday, January 5th, in Madeira. The Algarve came from three consecutive victories (one of them against Benfica), but saw the positive series interrupted.
Such as António Folha had warned, physical limitations forced Portimonense to enter the field without two of its stars: Nakajima and Jackson.
The first minutes of the game showed the importance of the two players in this Portimonense. Contrary to what is usual, the Algarve team didn't have good football and barely had attacking moves.
Already on the side of Marítimo, a team facing a crisis of results, there was the desire to want to score. In the first minute, Rodrigo Pinho headed inside the area for a tight defense by Ricardo Ferreira.
At 6′, Edgar Costa received a pass from Zainadine and, with only the Portimonense goalkeeper, tried to make a hat, but the ball went out near the post.
The first sign of danger from Portimonense was only at half an hour. Paulinho took an opponent out of the way and, at the edge of the area, shot with force, forcing Charles to defend for a corner.
The move did well for the Algarvian team that, in the next three minutes, had two opportunities to score, through Dener (32′) and Lucas Fernandes (35′). But, in the beacon of the islanders, there was an insurmountable Charles...
At 42 minutes came the move that changed the first part. Rodrigo Pinho was knocked down on the edge of the area by Rúben Fernandes, in a foul that left some doubts. In converting the free-kick, Edgar Costa opened the scoring, with a well-aimed shot that left Ricardo Ferreira nailed to the ground.
Despite having conceded the goal near the break, Portimonense had greater ascendancy at the start of the second half. Ewerton, on 53 minutes, had a clear opportunity to score, but, on the edge of the area and after receiving a pass from Paulinho, he shot wide.
Marítimo was abdicating the attack, rarely exploiting the greater offensive balance of Portimonense. The Algarvian team was trying, thus, to reach the equalizer and, at 73′, João Carlos could have scored, but Charles made another great save, after a shot from the edge of the area.
They didn't mark the Algarvians, they marked the islanders. A good move in the collective attack ended at the feet of Correa who, unopposed, shot into the back of the net (84′).
Despite the goal, Portimonense rolled up their sleeves and benefited from a penalty, at 90 minutes. Manafá was loaded into the area and the referee did not hesitate to award a penalty. In the conversion, Paulinho did not fail and made the 2-1, result with which the game ended.
With this defeat, Portimonense occupies, as a condition, the 7th place in the I League, with 23 points won.
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